Go Tell Aunt Rhody
by The Samurai Prince
Summary: ...that everybody's DEAD. [Crossover fusion with Resident Evil 7 and Total Drama. Main characters are Cody and Gwen. Now rated M.] Cover by Two-Mind-Monster on DA.
1. Catching Up With A Friend

**Hey everyone! Um...how are y'all? Uh...I decided to make a Total Drama Island/Resident Evil fusion...crossover...thing...**

 **...Okay, look, about "Thin", I'm REALLY sorry. It's not canceled or anything like that, it's just that...I'm stuck. I've really been trying to watch some of the first season of Total Drama Island, but the problem is...look, does anyone know where I can find the first season episodes of TDI on the internet? Also, I've been kind of busy with my other story ideas, so I didn't have time to watch TDI...that, or I'm seriously lazy to look up where to watch it. I have looked at the Wikia for Total Drama though...**

 **Actually, I do want to ask, do all of you like to see "Thin" continued? I mean, I might continue it either way, it's just that it'll take a long while for me to write it and plan out. I have the ending worked out, but the beginning and middle...not so much. D:**

 **But anyways, this is an idea that came to me a while back when I saw clips and seen the demo for the upcoming Resident Evil 7 game. It looks like it has some great promise to be a genuinely scary game, and there's so many theories going around to what the plot might be about, that I decided to make something really unique by borrowing these theories and making this Total Drama story! :D How am I gonna do that when the game isn't even out yet? Well...to answer that, I'm taking creative liberties on the story! Also, I'll probably make two chapters for now, so it won't delve into the story all that much yet. In fact, if the plot of the real game sounds like I could incorporate it in this story, then I'll use it with little touches here and there! But if I can't use it, then I'll use what I originally planned...which is kind of in development still...as usual when it comes to my stories... D:**

 **But yeah! I hope this will be interesting! Keep in mind though, that this is a build-up chapter, so the horror won't come into play yet. This chapter will show a little background how Cody and Gwen became good friends and how their relationship grew. So...without further ado...**

 **THE DISCLAIMER! 8D**

 **Disclaimer: The Total Drama Series is owned by Teletoon and Fresh TV Inc. The Resident Evil Series, and the upcoming RE7 game is owned by Capcom. Other chains and products are also NOT owned by me. Seriously. This is just an internet story. I'm not making money off of this. XP**

* * *

 **...Go Tell Aunt Rhody...**

* * *

She was happy that it's over.

Seriously, she was just _glad_.

After barely surviving the island collapse, floating on a cabin's rooftop, and luckily finding a fishing boat to take them back to the shore of Toronto, the contestants, but mostly Gwen, were completely relieved to finally be off the show _Total Drama_. The 17 year old girl just wanted to go home and plop down on her bed to sleep, erasing the memories that she had on this stressful reality TV show journey. But since they're in Toronto, she, along with the other contestants, can chill a little while. In fact, the producers of the show were nice enough to let them stay in a hotel and a day in Toronto before they can go home. And since she wasn't going to be in the new season, Gwen celebrated by going out on the town with Zoey, Mike, and Cameron.

"Man, that was amazing! The CN Tower really did had some phenomenal views!" Cameron commented in excitement as they walked the busy districts of the city. "I'm just glad I didn't get vertigo on those glass floors! Thanks again by the way for helping me walk on them!"

Zoey giggled as she held onto Mike's arm, which he chuckled. Gwen chuckled as well while walking next to them and said, "You were pretty brave for doing that, Cam."

Cameron turned to the Goth and blushed, "Heh, thanks. I've never been to a big city before, so being here can certainly impact your perspective if one has been in a bubble for so long. I'm just glad we didn't eat before we went."

Gwen chuckled. It's the beginning of the afternoon in their trip to Toronto, and they were walking around downtown Toronto in the financial district, enjoying the sights and sounds of the city, and using the money that the producers gave them(500 dollars each) as in a way to apologize for all the chaos they went through. They slept in for breakfast, and before, they went to the famous CN Tower to see the overlook of the entire city and Lake Ontario. They then decided to go to a McDonald's for lunch, which is a welcome taste on what they had to endure with the slop Chef calls 'food'.

While they were walking though, they have been stopped by many young viewers who were asking for their autographs, which although, while Gwen doesn't think she's all that special, she was flattered that they would look up to her. They especially thought her dumping Duncan was the right thing to do, as it portrays that she was a strong female character, which she was happy to hear. She always wanted to be a role model for young women, and she guesses she did just that, so that was a positive plus on her part for being on the show.

All in all though, they've really been through a lot. Among from all the horrible challenges and a sadistic host, they also had their morality tested. Now that they are finally out of _Total Drama_ , they can breath a sigh of relief, no longer needing to back-stab people and do stupid challenges to fight for a bunch of paper currency.

Gwen had it the worse, however, what with having two rocky relationships, and fixing her friendship with Courtney. She blinked at the thought of Courtney floating off in the distance in one of those balloons. _'Oh man...I really do hope Court is okay. Even after all the crap we've been through on this season, I hope we're still friends. She had to have voted herself off, I would think...'_ She instantly felt bad for saying that to Courtney, but she guesses she did maintain her end of the bargain...she can only hope she was alright wherever that balloon took her. She did want to keep in touch with her after all of this...she still views her as a friend.

But either way, even though she didn't get the prize money, the biggest prize she ever had in the show was that she actually made friends. She was usually a loner, but seeing that she was with people that just wants to be friends as well, made her realize that she could have some friends every once in a while.

 _'Speaking of friends, I wonder how they're doing, and what they're actually doing right now...'_ thought Gwen as she kept walking beside Mike, Zoey, and Cameron.

They entered a McDonald's, the heavenly smell of burger and fries wafting into their nostrils as their mouths begin to water.

"Man, I am SO glad to eat some _real_ food!" Zoey said relieved.

Mike laughed, "Tell me about it! I don't think that one course Chef cooked up when we were on _Revenge of the Island_ was chicken at all."

Zoey made a disgusted face, "Eyuck! That was horrible! It tasted like it was a cross between fish and rubber."

"Ugh, I rather not think about that right now." groaned Cameron, "Now that I'm out of my bubble, I would _really_ love to get me a Big Mac instead of the kids meal my mom always gives me." he says with his eyes rolled.

Gwen chuckled, but then she thought of her mom and brother back at home. She felt quite homesick when thinking of them, but she did told her mother that she was coming home tomorrow, which let her mother be relieved, also saying that her brother, Derek, was glad to finally see her come back home. That made her look all the more forward to go back to her small town in Ontario...

As they walked toward the cashiers, Gwen noticed someone sitting at one of tables at the corner of her left eye.

She sees one lone but recognizable teenager sitting and eating his Double Quarter Pounder with cheese.

Gwen's eyes widened, _'Cody?'_

Cameron also saw Cody and squinted, "Hey, is that Cody over there?"

Mike and Zoey turned to where Cameron was looking. Mike then said, "Hey, it is! Wow, what are the odds?"

 _'Tell me about it.'_ Gwen thought.

"Wow! Cool! Hey Gwen, he's your friend now, right?" Zoey asked the Goth.

"Um...well, yeah, I...guess we're friends now." Gwen said with a shrug.

When Cody was about to take another bite of his hamburger, he looked up and saw Gwen. He lowered his sandwich, his face expressing shock.

 _'Gwen!?'_ Cody thought, his mind freezing at the sight of her.

Cameron then went over to where Cody was at with a smile and extended his hand out, "Hey! You must be Cody! The name's Cameron!"

Cody snapped out of his daze and stared at the hand that was offering him to shake, "Oh, um...h-hi. Yeah, I'm...I'm Cody." he shook Cameron's hand, "Wait, so...you're Cameron from _Total Drama_ _Revenge of the Island_ and that new _Total Drama All Stars_?

"Yeah!" Cameron said happily, "How did you know?"

"Well, I've been up to date with recent stuff on the show while I've been out of commissioned. So, how's reality TV show fame treating you?" Cody said with a smile.

While they were talking, Mike, Zoey, Gwen came over to his table, the latter almost hesitant to do so.

 _'Oh come on, you already confirmed he's not all that bad. Sure, he's a little weird when it comes to me...actually, he's still a little perv, I think...but we are kind of friends now...'_ Gwen thought. She decided to just at least wave to him, but keeping a monotonous expression. "Hey Cody."

Cody turned his attention away from Cameron to Gwen. He looked surprised, probably not noticing her, "Gwen! Uh, hey!" he then turned to Mike and Zoey. "Oh! Um...Mike and Zoey, right?"

"Yep! Howya doing?" Mike said as he shook Cody's hand.

"Nice to meet you!" Zoey said cheerfully as she shook his hand as well.

"Thanks! And I'm...doing fine actually!" Cody said with a smile, although half of the genuine smile looked forced for some reason.

'Fine' is _kind of_ a loose term for Cody. After being on the show, things had been kind of...different for him. There was one crowd that felt sorry for him, and the other crowd who makes fun of him, which thankfully, the former had the most reception. Although, it didn't made him feel better, as he still gets ridiculed by the jerks at his school. Either way, it made him feel really self-conscious and embarrassed about the whole thing, making himself look like a fool on national television. He wished he could have another chance to redeem himself in another season to let everyone know that he wasn't the same weak dork everyone claims he was.

Actually, he _has_ been working out in the gym lately trying to improve his scrawny stature so he can gain more muscle. He thinks it's working; he has a hard time lifting weights and doing crutches as well as push ups, but he's getting there. He does has some tone in his arms, which he kind of hopes it would attract a girl...just as long it isn't anyone like Sierra(heaven forbid).

Still, he made friends like Trent, Harold, Noah, and DJ to name a few while being on the show. They keep in contact every now and then with Skype instant messaging, and phone calls. Trent was actually the closest friend he talks to when it comes to stuff bothering him and other deep things. Speaking of contacting, the only thing that he regrets was not getting to know Gwen better, even though he knows she's already a cool gal...

He just hopes that jerk Duncan's not corrupting the poor girl.

But seeing that Duncan is not in company with Gwen, Mike, Zoey, and Cameron, and in Toronto nonetheless, was a great relief. Although, he wonders why Gwen isn't with him right now.

Gwen noticed that the smile that Cody gave them looked almost fake. She frowned, but stayed silent. Her new friends, however, didn't seem to notice, as Mike said, "Great! Man, the last season was crazy! We barely escaped the island from crumbling apart!"

"The island crumbled apart?" Cody asked in confusion.

"Yeah!" Zoey said, "It was on a fracking machine-"

"Whoa! Hey, this is a McDonald's, please, watch your language here!" Cody said in a panic, his hands holding up as if to quiet her down.

Zoey, as well as Cameron, Mike, and Gwen blinked. Zoey then laughed, as well as the two other boys, while Gwen couldn't help but smirked and snickered at Cody's misunderstanding.

Cody however, was more confused, "W-What? What did I say?"

Gwen was the person to explain, shaking her head as she smiled, "Cody, _frack-ing_. Not...the other word you thought."

Cody sat there, processing what his dream girl was explaining, "...Oh! Oh you mean...oh." he blushed, wincing at how stupid he must have sound right now. He tried to recover his initial embarrassment when he asked, "Wait, so...fracking machine? You mean...?"

"Yep. Chris would go that far." Gwen shook her head at the thought of it.

"Whoa...and you all survived!?" Cody said flabbergasted.

"Yeah, believe it not. We then got rescued by a fishing boat and were brought here. We're spending the day in the city before we go back home." Cameron explained.

"Yeah." Mike nodded, "So what about you, Cody? What are you doing in Toronto?"

"Well, I live in Mississauga, which means I'm basically in Toronto...kind of. Anyways, I've just arrived here for the Toronto Comicon." Cody explains.

"What!? Seriously!? That's _today_!?" Mike exclaimed in shock. He then remembers the date today, "Oh, _man_ , that's right! Today is March 18th!"

"Wait, Comicon? _The_ Comicon?" Cameron said in awe. "I've...I've always wanted to go there..."

Cody smiled and chuckled, "Yeah. You guys comic book fans?"

"Well, I'm kind of a, _YEAH_ I am!" Mike said enthusiastically.

"Do you even need to ask!? Iron Man is my favorite Marvel superhero, as well as Batman being my favorite DC superhero!" Cameron says excitedly.

Cody laughed, "Sweet!"

The three boys talked for a couple of moments about their favorite superheros. Gwen was rolling her eyes humorously at their display of geekdom, while Zoey giggled.

"Uh, guys? We're kind of hungry, you know?" Zoey teased with a smirk.

The boys stopped their conversation, Mike and Cameron blushing in embarrassment, while Cody smiled sheepishly.

"Heh, uh, sorry. I didn't mean to keep you all from ordering your food." Cody said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Hey, no problem! Actually, how about after we order our food, we all sit with you and talk for a while? You seem like you need the company!" Zoey offers kindly.

Cody blinked, "Well...y-you all don't really have to-"

"Are you kidding? I want to talk to you about the latest Batman movie!" Cameron said with a smile.

Cody, stunned, looked at Mike, Zoey, and Cameron each, until he locked his gaze onto Gwen.

Gwen blinked, looking at Cody. Should he sit with him? _'Well...eh, why not? If he ever does anything creepy I'll just kick him in the shin...but for some reason, I get the feeling that he really wouldn't do something like that now...besides, he does look kind of lonely at this table. I think he would need the company.'_

Gwen shrugged, "Hey, we can sit with you...if...you know, you want us to." she said, feeling a little awkward upon saying that.

Cody looked even more stunned, his eyes widened, and mouth agape quite a bit.

Gwen tried her hardest not to giggle. _'Hehe! I got to admit, he does look kind of cute all surprised like that.'_

Cody snapped out of his shock, and smiled widely, "Sure! I mean, if that's okay with all of you?" he said to them(but he mostly was asking Gwen).

Gwen smirked softly, "Sure." she said simply.

"Great!" Cody said ecstatically, "Let me warn ya though, I talk nonstop about geeky comic book stuff."

Gwen couldn't help but snicker that time. "Duly noted."

Cody beamed at making her chortle.

* * *

When they placed their order and got their tray of food to Cody's table, they all talked for a bit about comics, _Total Drama_ , and other everyday things. Cody instantly made friends with the three contestants and learned more about their interests and their quirks, such as Mike's Multiple Personality Disorder, Zoey's love for indie theater and movies, as well as Cameron being encased in a plastic bubble at the time. Gwen sat there a little quietly, occasionally filling in what the others were saying to Cody.

The Goth, however, couldn't help but let her mind wander at times when she glances at Cody.

He seems...different. He's joking around, laughing, being excited by the stuff he's talking about...it's like he's not acting like that other version of Cody she met while on Wawanakwa Island in the first season. He's not even giving out cheesy pick up lines to her and Zoey(but maybe that's because he knows she's taken). It's like...he's being himself...and not acting like someone else.

 _'I wonder what made Cody started acting like this?'_ Gwen thought in curiosity. Granted, she knows Cody is a good guy. Sure, he tries hard when he flirts and acting like he's a 'ladies man', but Gwen would chalk it up to hiding his insecurities.

...Actually, when she thought about that, it made her feel pretty bad for Cody, sad even. He was really trying to fit in with the popular crowd, where if it was her, she didn't care to fit into any popular crowd(although, she did wanted friends). Still, Cody was just insecure about his traits, his real personality, and in an effort to mask them - thinking that no one will take the real Cody - decided to become a different person.

She blames the social groups of schools...

Come to think of it, she wonders what kind of friends Cody has back at his school? Were they good friends? Loyal friends? Or will they just laugh at him when he comes back?

She thought about how he acted during _World Tour_ , and while he was still attached to her, he grown mature during the whole show, to the point that he became bearable during his participation in the team. And they have become friends...somewhat.

Gwen frowned slightly at how weak that sounded in her mind.

Now why does she think that? Of course they're friends...if Cody would just accept that. But maybe he has during and after these two seasons...maybe he really has grown mature during that time...

Either way, seeing Cody smiling and laughing without having to act like someone he wasn't...it was a nice change.

 _'Yeah...we are friends...'_ Gwen smirked, _'And I can tolerate his hormones.'_

Cody turned to Gwen, whom she snapped out of her thoughts when she realized she was staring at him. "So, um...how are things going with you, Gwen?" he asks, his tone almost hesitant.

Gwen thought on how to answer that. She had a breakup with Duncan, her friendship with Courtney has been kind of repaired, and she escaped the island crumbling down as mentioned before...

"Well, for one thing, I broke up with Duncan." she said simply. Her eyes widened at what she said. _'What!? Why did I say_ that _of all things!?'_

Cody's eyes widened in shock. ' _She...she broke up with Duncan!?'_ In his mind, he was doing excited back-flips, but he had to think of Gwen and how she felt, so he just said in a sympathetic tone, "Oh...I'm...I'm sorry."

Gwen sighed, _'Oh well, I guess what's done is done. I mean, he deserves to at least know.'_ "Don't be. I realized he was a jerk."

"Oh...um...w-well..." Cody looked sheepish for a moment.

Gwen softly smiled, "Cody, you can express how you feel about Duncan, don't worry. It's not like he's in Toronto. In fact, he's in jail."

Cody looked surprised at the last bit, "He's in jail? Whoa, what did he do, kill Chris?"

That time Gwen laughed, although it was soft. The others laughed as well. Cody's insides swelled with happiness to know that he made her laugh as well as his new friends, but mostly Gwen...she has a beautiful laugh.

"Sadly no, but he trashed his quote on quote 'cottage'." Gwen said, using quotation marks with her fingers.

"Quote on quote, huh? Sounds like it's more than a cottage." Cody said sardonically.

"Heh, yeah. You know how Chris can be with subtlety." Gwen said as she rolled her eyes.

Cody laughed, "Well, I'll tell you one thing; I'm glad I'm not on _Total Drama_ anymore. I just want to put that behind me."

"Tell me about it." Gwen agreed, "I vowed to never to be on that show again. I had to put bear poop on a portrait of Chris on one of the challenges."

"...What now?" Cody asked in perplexity.

"Long story. It got me eliminated." Gwen explained.

"Oh...well, whatever the challenge was, I should think that Chris would have been flattered that you added on the one thing that compliments his personality."

Gwen now full on laughed at the joke. The others bust a gut laughing as well. Once again, Cody felt happy to make everyone, especially Gwen, laugh.

They talked for a little while longer, reviewing the torture that was _All Stars_ , as well as what happened in the show. They told him about Gwen's on and off again friendship with Courtney, Mike's evil personality 'Mal' almost taking over his body, how they saved Chris from Ezekiel, to the final challenge, where Mike and Zoey had their first kiss.

"Wow...man, talk about a season!" Cody said impressed.

"Yeah. And the best part is, we don't have to be in another one." Gwen said with a smile.

Cody smiled as well, knowing the feeling. There was a vibration in his pocket, indicating his phone was ringing. He fished it out of his pocket and looked at the caller ID. "Oh, um...hold on a second. It's my Mom. Got to tell her that I made it here okay." He hit the the answer button and put it to his ear, "Mom? ...Hey, yeah, I made it out here okay. ...Oh, okay. Tell Dad I said thanks...oh, I'm at a McDonald's right now with some frie-" he paused for a second before he frowned, "...oh...okay. I mean, yeah, you got to get that call...yeah. Well, I love you Mom..." He hung up the call and sighed almost forlornly.

Gwen, Zoey, Mike, and Cameron all glanced at each other at what just occurred. Zoey turned to him in concern, "Um...is everything okay?"

Cody looked up to them with a forced smile, "Ah, it's nothing. Mom and Dad are just busy doing their thing. My Mom was just checking up on me." He quickly changed subjects, "So, what else are you all doing today in the big city?"

"Um...well, we haven't really figured that out yet. We went to the CN Tower, but we don't know where to go next to spend our budget on." Cameron admitted.

"Oh..." Cody hummed, "...You know, I can go to the Comicon tomorrow, so why not I show you around some of the great places here?"

All four blinked.

"Really?" Gwen asked, a little surprised.

Cody shrugged with a smile, "Yeah. You may not know, but my family is loaded. They gave me their credit card, but don't worry, I won't overspend. Besides, I wanted to check out this art gallery that house an exhibit on modern surrealism art."

"Surrealism art?" Gwen said, intrigued.

"Yeah. What do you guys say? Does that sound like something you like to pass the time on?" Cody asks them.

Mike, Zoey and Cameron glanced at each other, the former shrugging, smiling as he said, "Hey, that's sounds cool. I like to challenge my mind."

"Yeah! That kind of stuff actually interests me." Zoey commented.

"Surrealism art...is that the art style that shows weird imagery, but has some sort of message behind it?" Cameron asked.

"It's kind of like that." Cody answers with a chuckle.

"Hmm...that sounds cool! I like to check that out! What do you say, Gwen?" Cameron said to the Goth.

They all looked at Gwen, who looked at them for a second until she glanced back at Cody. "I...never knew you liked that kind of art, Cody."

"Well, yeah. I like art too. Comic illustrations got me into art, so I can really appreciate the traditional stuff as well. Plus, I do like the modern influence on surreal fantasy pieces." Cody said with a shrug and smile.

"Oh...but...are you sure? I mean, we don't want you to miss out on all the...uh, comic stuff." Gwen said, feeling kind of strange about letting Cody court them around the city.

"Hey, it goes on for three days, I can miss one." Cody says with happy grin, "Besides, I'm basically a Torontonian, so I know this place pretty well. Also, after the art gallery, I can show you all this great arcade complex. It's huge and has the best entertainment there is, to shooters, fighting games, dance games, as well as classic games."

"Wow, that sounds like fun!" Cameron grinned.

"I can go for that!" Zoey said with an approving smile.

"You had me at arcade complex!" Mike said excitedly.

Gwen kept staring at Cody, actually touched that he would go all this way to let them have a good time. "Wow...that's...really cool of you, Cody."

He smiled warmly, "Hey, we're friends. It's the least I can do."

Gwen didn't know how it happened, but she smiled a kind smile at Cody. She then smirked and said, "Okay, sure. Why not? I do want to ask, is there any zombie shooters in this arcade complex?"

"I think they're plenty, but they just came out with the HD remastered version of _House of Zombies_."

"Seriously!? I'm sold." Gwen grinned.

Cody grinned as well. _'Wow...I'm doing great! Maybe I should've just been myself a long time ago. And I'm gonna hang out with Gwen! And I also made even more friends! Who says I need to be someone else to be cool?'_

Soon, they exited out of the fast food restaurant and began to go out on the town, with Cody as their guide...

* * *

"Dang, you were right Cody! That was the best ramen I've ever tasted!" Mike complimented at they all exited out of the restaurant and into the night air.

After looking at the arts, playing arcade games, and having some Asian cuisine for dinner, they started to head back to the path where Gwen, Zoey, Mike, and Cameron's hotel is.

"Man, this day has been great! Much better than any other day spent on _Total Drama_!" Cameron complimented as well.

"Thanks for showing us around the city, Cody! You really didn't have to do all of this for us though." Zoey said gratefully and sincerely.

"Hey, don't worry about it! I'm just glad I made new friends, as well as get in touch with old ones!" Cody commented happily.

Gwen smirked, "It has been a pretty entertaining day. I never knew you were a good virtual shooter. I think you popped five zombie's heads off in one level."

"Heh, thanks! You were pretty great yourself too, Gwen. I think you got every zombie in the game!" Cody praised her.

Gwen chuckled, "Well, _House of Zombies_ is my favorite game growing up. I already practically know when the zombies will come out of their hiding places."

As soon as they reached their hotel, Mike, Zoey, and Cameron all said their goodbyes and thanks to Cody, but Gwen however said, "Um, you guys go on ahead. I need to talk to Cody for a moment."

Cody turned to Gwen in surprise, "You do?"

Gwen looked at Cody oddly, "Well, yeah. What, is...that okay?"

"Oh, uh, sure! I, um, just..." Cody had nothing to say to that.

Zoey, Mike, and Cameron glanced at each other curiously. Cameron turned to the the Goth and Tech Geek while saying, "Well, okay. Thanks again for showing us around, Cody! And thanks for giving us your Skype!"

"Yeah, thanks man!" Mike said with a smile.

"Thank you so much! We'll see ya soon!" said Zoey with a grin.

They waved as they left the two alone, all going to their hotel. While being out of earshot, Zoey asked Mike and Cameron, "What do you think Gwen wants to talk to Cody about?"

Mike shrugged, "Don't know. Maybe she just wants to personally thank him."

"I heard that they kind of have a decent friendship going on. Maybe it's just personal stuff." Cameron speculated.

Back at Cody and Gwen, the latter turned her attention to the former, "So, um...yeah, thanks for showing us around."

"No problem." Cody smiled.

Gwen however, was a little hesitant to say anything else, but she found the courage to say, "I...do want to ask though...are we...really friends?"

Cody then frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Well, what I mean by that, is...well, we didn't really start off... _well_ on _Total Dram Island_ , and..." she rubs the back of her neck, "...Cody, you could've just acted like that when we were on the first season."

Cody knew where she was getting at, "Oh...um...well, yeah, I..." he looked down shamefaced. "...I don't know, I just...I was just afraid that no one will be friends with the 'geeky' me."

Gwen now frowned, "What makes you say that?"

"My school...kind of runs on social status."

"Hey, mine does too. Why do you think I'm called the Goth girl?" Gwen joked.

"Yeah, but...you were different. To me, you were like...the coolest girl I've ever seen."

"Me? Cool? What made you see that?" Gwen asked curiously.

"Well, like I said, you were different. Not only were you...well..." Cody blushed, "...pretty, but you have a great personality, and you didn't care what anyone else said. You also don't take any prisoners. I learn that the hard way." he chuckled softly, "You really are...I mean...you're definitely my..." Cody faltered there, rubbing the back of his neck, blushing another shade of red.

Gwen had a feeling she knew what he was going to say, "Your...dream girl?"

"Um...y-yeah..." he said softly. He then sighed, "Look, I know I screwed up our first meeting, and you know, I really blame myself for that. Really, all I wanted was just friends. My Mom and Dad are too busy for me, I kind of have a sucky school life, and I'm not...really all that good with girls, as you can plainly see. I wanted to be on _Total Drama_ just to see if I can be someone different, someone that people can relate too..." Cody scoffed, looking at the ground, "I guess I had a lot to learn." he then looked thoughtful, "...You know, _Total Drama_ did teach me one thing; to be myself. To be who I _really_ am..." he glanced up at Gwen with a soft smile, "Actually, you taught me that as well to, Gwen."

Gwen blinked, "I did?"

"Yeah. You acted like yourself during the whole show, and I really should've caught that..." Cody looked back at the the ground again with an unsure frown, "I'm just wondering...but...do you think things would've been different between us if I'd...acted like myself?"

The Goth softly frowned, silent for a moment to think what to say to that.

"...Maybe..." she said, looking at the ground in contemplation.

Cody was silent as well, until he took a deep breath, "...You know, I wouldn't change this. This was a life lesson that I had to learn myself; by just _being_ myself." he looked up at Gwen with a smile, "And you helped contribute that."

Gwen felt...flattered by that. "T...Thanks, Cody."

Cody nodded, still having the same warm smile. "No prob."

The pale girl stood there with a thoughtful expression, "You know...we may not have hit it off or anything, but...I can easily say that we _are_ friends." she said with a smile.

Cody smiled understandingly, "And that's cool with me. I really wouldn't have it any other way."

Gwen's smile turned warmer. "You know...I can give you my Skype if you want?"

Cody's eyes widened in surprise, "Really?"

"Yeah. But don't expect a free show." Gwen said the last part in a half-teasing but half-serious tone.

Cody raised his hands up in defense, "Hey, don't worry! I may be a horndog, but I won't stoop that low!"

Gwen smirked, "Good."

And so they exchanged Skype addresses, and were about to go off their way, until Gwen called out to him, "Hey Cody?"

Said boy stopped and turned around, "Yeah?

She smiled gently at him, "It's good to know the real Codemeister."

Cody chuckled, "Thanks. It's good to see you again, Gwen."

Gwen nodded with the same smile. They went onto their separate ways after that...

 _'Huh. It's good to see Cody finally coming out of his shell. I'm glad I bumped into him today.'_ Gwen thought in content as she walked to her hotel.

 _'Wow...that was the best conversation I had with Gwen ever! Things could be looking up for me here! Maybe...we can become something more as time passes on. But I don't want to rush it though. I don't want to ruin what we already have. Just...be yourself. The_ real _you...'_ he nodded with a smile, feeling complacent as he walked off to where his hotel was.

* * *

 **Scary, ain't it? Lol, don't worry, the horror will come into play in a little while. However, I'm still waiting for the game to come out in the next two months to see what the plot will be about, so it'll be a while for me to write this...like all of my other stories...(sigh) I got to stop thinking up potential ideas for stories, man. XP**

 **But still, how was this? Of course, this is just the prologue, but things will get interesting in the next chapter, believe me! There will be a time-skip and everything! :D**

 **But yeah, what do you all think? Does it have promise? Did I do the characters right? Tell me with a review! And if you're interested, leave a fave or a follow! :)**

 **I'll see you all around! Keep on rocking everybody! ^_^**

 **-TSP**


	2. Growing Closer

**Hey all! Well, I THINK I got all of this planned out! It was kind of hard, but after watching video playthroughs of RE7, I decided to go with the game's original plot of this story, BUT with my own little touches on it! I won't tell you what they are, but just know that I won't copy everything from the game. Cody will have his own dialogue and will react to certain situations like he would when something horrible happens, as well as Gwen. Situations will be changed, and interactions with the characters in RE7 will be different. So without further ado, I hope you'll all enjoy this second chapter as well as the rest of this story! :D**

 **[EDIT: 6/13/2017]**

* * *

 _Four years later, in the USA, Seattle, Washington..._

* * *

It's Friday evening, around 5:00 PM in the state of Washington, where the cloudy city of Seattle was bustling with activity. It's also at this city where a certain tech geek has been accepted in a university that specializes in computer science. Living in an apartment as of now, Cody Anderson was studying to become a successful computer engineer, one that develops gaming consoles and perhaps video games. Right now though, he just entered his abode, feeling very tired.

Cody's attire consists of a brown V-neck dress sweater that has a red horizontal stripe on it, with a long sleeved buttoned up white shirt underneath it, the collar poking out of the sweater's collar. He was also wearing blue jeans, as well as a pair of black slip on dress shoes.

His facial features also had changed, his face being more triangular, losing his baby fat on his cheeks, and sporting a short goatee beard. His hair was still a brown mop, but the most noticeable difference was his physique. He was still a little lanky, but he has a good amount of lean muscle from working out a little bit in the gym, as well as trying to keep himself in shape.

"Man, that course was brutal!" Cody said in his more mature voice. Cody walked over to his den area, taking off his backpack and computer case. He tossed the backpack on his right side of the couch, all the while plopping his computer case on the left side of it. He sat on the furniture as he gave out a big sigh, leaning back and looking up at the ceiling, relaxing for the time being now that he's back at his residence. The quietness in his den overtakes him, feeling at ease now that his last class was over for the day.

...Silence...

Cody stared at the turned off ceiling fan for moment, contemplating what to do now...

"...I wonder what Gwen is doing." he asked himself.

For the past four years, he and Gwen have been keeping in touch with each other through texts, phone and video calls, strengthening their friendship. Their relationship has progressed quite well throughout the years, being a little closer than they once were. Their college life has been pretty busy lately, but they always spend the time talking to each other whenever they can.

Gwen actually is in Texas right now, in the city of Houston, which surprisingly enough, she decided to pursue medical school. Even though it was a surprise, it was a nice one. It was actually brought up when they first video called each other on Skype about two weeks ago after they left Toronto, when Cody asked Gwen what kind of college she wanted to attend to as well as what she wanted to be. Her answer was the medical field and pediatrics, in which Cody was quite intrigued. Wanting to know why, as he thought she would like the art industry better, she answered and explained the reasoning, that being it was because of her little brother Derek. Her brother was three years younger than her, and was actually diagnosed with a rare skin cancer when he was eleven. In fact, this cancer was what made her father passed away when she was seven, and, as she told Cody that it affected him when he was younger, the doctors trying to get the cancer out multiple times. It soon became strong enough for him to be succumbed to the illness, taking him away from her and her family. Thankfully, her brother's cancer was discovered and found early during his daily doctor's check-up, and they got it out just in time before it could even spread. However, it scared Gwen at that time. She was afraid that she was going to lose her little brother, whom she loved dearly. And even though the doctors got the cancer out, they were afraid that it would come back, so they suggested to let him go on an all natural diet and not be in the sun for too long. It was at that moment Gwen would devote herself to try to help her brother get through life by getting treated and finding a cure for him if it does come back.

Touched by this devotion, Cody had a newfound admiration for Gwen. She even explained that she wanted to use the money to go to a good college, so she can research her way on curing her brother. She didn't really mention that part when she was first on _Total Drama Island_ , mainly because she didn't trust people at that time to confine to. Actually, she really just didn't want to bring it up at the time, trying not to worry herself about it. Either way, it made Cody really see that Gwen absolutely cares for her family, especially for her brother.

 _'She really is an amazing girl.'_ Cody thought with a smile.

She also said that she wanted to go to the States to get her education, preferably in a warmer climate(the winters in Ontario can be brutal sometimes). She decided on Texas, because she likes the history there, and Houston had a good college there, as well as a college for medicine. Even better, her mom and brother decided to move where Gwen is in Houston, buying a house in the suburbs. They did this around Gwen's beginning semester of her sophomore year, becoming US citizens.

As for Cody, he was of course, in Seattle, the tech capital of the US, getting his degree in computer science. He was enjoying it so far, although, as stated before, the classes he attends are quite challenging. He can understand it, it's just that it was hard to memorize a lot stuff sometimes. Plus, it was also hard work. As of right now though, he's been selected to be an intern in a video gaming company in the States after college, so he's excited about that.

All in all, Cody and Gwen do talk to each other when the time is decent. They talk about their school, problems, even what's going on with their lives. They've really connected through those four years, and Cody wouldn't have it any other way.

However, they were still _just_ _friends._ And he would be lying if he say he's happy with being just that...but honestly, he doesn't want to ruin what he has right now. He would rather let Gwen decide if they want to take their relationship to the next step.

At the age of 21, Cody not only matured a little physically, but mentally as well, as he wasn't the 'horn-dog' that he claimed to be anymore(although, he is like any other guy who can't help but be attracted by the opposite sex). He's been a good student, and a responsible young adult, working hard to try to reach where he is right now.

Gwen also became an even more responsible young adult, as well as becoming a great student, learning the science side of the medical field, which she'll earn her Biology degree at the end of her senior year. Even better, she was accepted into a medical college that's in the city center of Houston.

Another interesting fact, is that during the summer, she works as a babysitter. This started during her mother and brother moved in to the suburbs, after her sophomore year. She's actually in a program at the university that babysits children who has special needs, so she can learn how to treat them in the future. Along with that, she's been selling her artwork online lately, earning a good amount of money. Cody even bought one of her artworks that caught his eye; it was hanging in his den right now. It was a painting of a black furred tiger with green stripes, perched on a cliff-side, the background being a Gothic looking castle in the distance, making it look like a surreal fantasy piece.

Cody glanced at the painting that was on the wall above his flat screen TV. He smiled once again, reminiscing Gwen's happy video call after he bought it. She was so grateful that he liked it, and Cody promised that he'll display it proudly in his apartment.

He sighed softly, grabbing his computer case, unzipping it and getting his laptop out. He then gets up from his couch, carrying his laptop in his arm as he went to his stairs. He climbed them up, and headed towards his room, where his desk was, along with his bed, another TV where he hooked up all of his game consoles, and book cases full of graphic novels, manga, as well as fictional books.

He placed the laptop on his desk, opened it, and put in his password to open it. He made sure that his battery was fully charged, and seeing that it was, he got his phone out and texted Gwen.

 _Hey Gwen! Want to video chat? I'm already on Skype if you want to!_

Waiting for her answer he decided to check his email on his phone. After a few seconds, she replied back.

 _Sure thing, Codemeister! I'm in my room! I'll get it started._

Cody chuckled at that. Gwen always teases him with that nickname whenever she has the chance. He doesn't really mind it much; if she's the one calling him by his old nickname, then it was all good for him.

He went to Skype, signed in, and found her account. He clicked on the call button and waited for when the call gets through.

Once it did, he saw the beautiful face of Gwen displayed on his laptop screen. Her appearance was still the same, except her lips weren't teal anymore, as she wasn't wearing any lipstick, and her short shoulder length hair is back to being it's original black color, only this time it has one teal highlight in it that's on one of her left bangs. Her complexion is also still somewhat the same, having that same radiant pale-ish glow to it whenever the light hits her skin. She was wearing a dark green and black striped short sleeved top, while she still had the same black choker wrapped around her neck. And if he had to guess, she must also be wearing dark jeans and is barefoot right now, looking like she was sitting on her bed, her laptop computer being on her lap.

With the screen displaying the once loner girl, Gwen smirked and said, "Hey Cody!"

"Hey Gwen! What's up?" Cody said with a smile.

"Ugh, a lot actually. Just one more week and normal college life will be over for me!"

"Heh, tell me about it. Speaking of which, how was finals week?"

"Whew! It's been murder. I think I gotten all the answers right though. How was yours?"

"Eh, it was challenging, but nothing that the _Codemeister_ can't handle." Cody smirked.

Gwen rolled her eyes with that same sexy smirk that Cody loves. "Well, that's good to hear, Mr. Computer Wiz."

Cody chuckled while Gwen softly laughed. She then continued saying, "But man, I can't wait to graduate and get back to my Mom's place and see Derek."

"Well, you better enjoy that freedom while it lasts Gwen, because I hear medical school has _lots_ of tests." Cody teases her.

"Ugh...yeah, from what I've heard. But it'll be worth it just to help my little brother." Gwen says with sweet smile.

Cody decides to ask, "How is he, by the way?"

"He's been doing pretty well. He's still eating the healthy stuff, and hasn't gone out much, but there's been no sign of him feeling ill..." Gwen faltered a bit, looking like she was contemplating what she said.

Cody noticed Gwen's unsure expression, but he decided not to pry. "Well, that's, uh, good to know he's not feeling bad or anything. So, um...what have you've been doing lately?"

Gwen glanced at Cody, smiling at him in appreciation. She shrugged, "Eh, nothing much. Just been doing my usual art."

"Ah. Any new pieces you want to share with me?" Cody asked. He honestly does love her art; her pieces are more imaginative than dark looking, plus, they have messages behind them, both environmental and philosophical.

Gwen smile was beaming. "Yeah! I actually have some with me..." Gwen then paused for a second, looking like she's considering something.

Cody frowned. "Something wrong, Gwen?"

Gwen sat there...until asking Cody. "Actually...I want your opinion on something."

Cody raised a brow. "My opinion? Well, sure Gwen, what do you want to know?"

Gwen suddenly looked hesitant. "Well...i-it's kind of silly..."

Cody smiled again. "C'mon, Gwen. What is it? You know for a fact that I won't laugh."

Gwen twisted her lips in thought. "Well..." she then took a deep breath. "Okay...some of these drawings are...actually used for something. And...well, you see, I was...thinking of making a..."

Cody smirked. "Gwen, come on, just tell me."

"...I was thinking of making a children's book."

The young man blinked. "Really?"

Gwen looked to her right and blushed just a bit. "Yeah..."

Cody was stunned for a second, until he smiled warmly. "Wow, Gwen...that's awesome."

Gwen turned her attention back at Cody with a surprised look. She smiled softly as she tucked a strand of her raven black lock behind her right ear. "You really think so?"

Cody chuckled and grinned. "Of course. Like I said, I think it's awesome. There's nothing to be shy about that whatsoever."

"Well, coming from a girl who knows horror movie tropes and was once a goth loner, I thought it was kind of strange." Gwen chuckled in good humor.

"Hey, I don't think it's strange. In fact, that's what makes the idea all the more intriguing! And you really do have a creative mind!" Cody reassured her.

Gwen's face flushed a little more as she let her eyes look down, shyly keeping eye contact away from Cody from the time being, displaying a small smirk. "Thanks, Codemeister."

Cody nodded with a smile. "No problem. So, what's it about? What kind of characters are you illustrating?"

Gwen looked back up at the chestnut haired young man, grinned, and happily told him about her story. The concept was a fantasy book full of little cute monsters(which she showed the illustrations of the creatures) helping people in a different fantasy world. Cody was so far invested into the whole plot of her story, which made Gwen feel even more excited to tell him the whole thing.

After a while of telling Cody the tale of "The Little Helpers", Gwen finished by saying. "And that's how they all lived in harmony with the humans after they realized the creatures have been helping them with their everyday lives."

"Wow! That's really sweet, Gwen." Cody complimented with a sincere smile.

Gwen chuckled. "I never thought I would even consider making a children's book, but after those few years of hanging out and babysitting kids, I thought why not? I would love to let the kids I look after learn good morals."

"Well, I say go for it, Gwen!" Cody cheered.

Gwen laughed softly. "Thanks, Cody." she looked at the time on her laptop. "Wow, we've been talking for almost two hours now."

"Have we?" Cody checked the time on his laptop. It read 6:45. "Whoa, we have! I'm sorry Gwen, I hope I didn't kept you from doing anything! It's basically 8:45 other there!"

"Nah, don't worry about it, Cody. I'm always happy to have these talks, as well as you giving me positive feedback on my book idea." Gwen said sincerely.

Cody smirked. "Hey, I mean it. Go for it. Maybe you can get started when summer break comes rolling around?"

Gwen smiled warmly. "Yeah..." she then looks down once more, almost looking unsure about something.

Cody noticed the look on her face, and became concerned. "Everything okay, Gwen?"

"Oh, yeah, um..." The dark haired beauty kept glancing at her keyboard. "...Hey, uh...Cody, I...um...I just..." she kept looking down in silence for a moment, until she looked up with a smile. "Nothing. Thanks for the talk, Cody."

Blinking at the dropped topic(whatever it may be), he said. "Um...o-okay. No, uh, no problem Gwen."

Gwen shift her eyes to her left and bit her bottom lip. After a couple of seconds of her just sitting there, Cody was about to ask what's wrong, when Gwen suddenly said. "Actually...do you have any...summer plans?"

"Huh? Uh...w-well, I was going to go visit my parents in Mississauga during the month of June after college is out. I'll be staying for about three weeks." Cody explained.

Gwen frowned. "Oh..." she rubbed the back of her head. "Well...what day do you get back?"

Puzzled, Cody answered. "I...come back on the 25th, on a Sunday."

"Oh, okay..." Gwen looked hesitant as she sat there, but she then went out and said. "I just...wanted to know if...you...had any time to come visit me."

Cody blinked again, this time in wide-eyed shock.

"I mean, when it's still summer. " Gwen added in quickly.

"U-Uh..." Cody cleared his head. "Y-You want me to come visit you?"

"Well...yeah. I like to meet up with the Codemeister in person. Maybe you can meet my Mom and Bro while you're there. I can also show you the sights around the city." Gwen smirked shyly.

Cody couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was this really happening? Was Gwen actually inviting him to come visit? Granted, their relationship has grown stronger throughout the years, but...did he heard that right?

Cody stared at his dream girl for a moment.

She looked so naturally beautiful, her silky black hair framing her face, her pale skin flawless, and her eyes...her dark eyes held a kindness and warmth in them...which they also looked...hopeful? Why is that? She couldn't possibly be implying what he thinks she's asking...right? Granted, it's not like she was technically asking him out on a date, or confessing her undying love to him or anything like that(okay, that last one was stretching it, but he can dream, right?), but she basically asked him if he would like to travel 2,000 something miles away just to come visit her...

"Uh...Cody?"

Cody broke out of his current thoughts, realizing that he was just sitting there staring at her. Not wanting to look like a weirdo, he straighten his composure and said. "U-Uh, sorry! I was, uh, just...a-anyways, y-yeah! That would be awesome! Maybe I can...uh, see if I'm free in July!" he said with a nervous, but happy tone, along with a smile.

Gwen smiled as well, that beautiful smile. "Okay. Sounds cool! Please do tell me if you have a free week to come over or something."

"Sure!" Cody said almost a little too excitedly. "I mean...yeah, yeah, sure. I'll check my schedule and I'll get back to you on that. I'll text you the day and time even, if that's okay."

Gwen chuckled. "Sounds good! I'll be up for a little bit longer, so if you do decided on a day and time until then, go ahead and text me!"

"Will do!" Cody said with smirk and a two finger salute.

She chuckled again. "Well, I'll let you go Cody. It was great talking to you as always."

"It's _always_ great talking to you as well, Gwen." Cody said sincerely.

Gwen smiled. "Thanks. Well, I'll see you around. Bye Codemeister!"

Cody chuckled. "See ya Gwen!"

And with that, they hung up their video call. Cody sat there in his chair, reflecting what Gwen was asking of of him...

Did Gwen really wanted him to come visit her?

It was pretty bizarre to him. It was only a few years ago that Gwen didn't even look his way, and now they're great friends...possibly more?

Cody shook his head. _'Come on man, don't get your hopes up. You may like Gwen, heck, maybe even love her, but...well, you had your chance with her the first time, and you blew it...what she asked of you was just...friend stuff. And you don't want to ruin that friendship...no matter how much you want to be so much more...however, she hasn't been dating lately...but that could be because she's focusing on her studies right now...'_

He blew a sigh, and got his phone out, calling a good friend of his.

His phone rang two times when the phone on the other line picked up. _"Hey Cody! What's going on?"_

Cody smirked. "Hey Trent. I just want to talk to you for a moment about something."

" _Sure thing! How are you doing, by the way?"_

"Oh, doing great! How's California treating you?"

" _Pretty well! Can't wait to graduate and get my degree in music! How's Seattle?"_

"It's going great! And yeah, can't wait to graduate either! All this info on programming is making me wither away!"

" _Heh, I wouldn't know too much on that, but I bet it can be exhausting! So, what's up? Is there something on your mind?"_

"Yeah...um, it kind of relates to...well, it involves a girl."

" _Let me guess, Gwen?"_

Cody froze. "Uh...w-well, I mean...um...w-well, I was just, uh-"

Trent chuckles. _"Hey, Cody, relax! Gwen and I reached an understanding. It's all good. So, Gwen huh? What happened? It's nothing bad, is it?"_

"No, no, it's...well, it's just..." Cody sighed. "Okay...I want your opinion on something."

 _"Sure. What is it?"_

"Alright...now...Gwen and I were talking on Skype, and while we were talking about stuff, she...actually invited me to come see her in Houston during the Summer."

" _...Really?"_ Trent asked incredulously.

"Yeah. And of course, I agreed, but...I just want to know what that...means."

" _Huh...hmm..."_

There was a silence on the other line.

"...Uh, Trent?"

" _Sorry, I'm still here. Hmm...well, honestly, in my opinion, I think that's a sure enough sign that she likes you, Cody."_

"W-What!?" Cody said taken aback. "W-What makes you say that?"

" _Well, usually she lets someone visit her because she trusts that person. And you guys have become close enough to talk about anything. You matured quite well, Cody."_

"Well, yeah, but...she...she really couldn't possibly be interested in _me_ , could she?"

" _Hey, you're a good guy, Cody, don't sell yourself short. But to tell you the truth, I wouldn't really know if she was interested in you in that way. You wanted to know my opinion, and I told ya, buddy. Granted, I don't know if it is true, but it does sound like a possibility. Gwen is a very cautious person when it comes to letting people in her life romantically. And hey, maybe she does see you in a romantic light. But if she does, don't go back into flirting mode. Just be yourself, Cody."_

"Hey, don't worry, I already learn that a long time ago. But...I mean, right now I'm suppose to look for a week to visit her-"

" _A week!? Whoa, Cody, slow down! Why that long?"_

"Huh? W-...Well, Gwen suggested a week."

" _She did?"_

There was another silence on Trent's line...

"Trent?"

" _Sorry, I'm here. Cody, maybe I'm right about this."_

"Say what not?"

" _Buddy, she wants you to stay for a_ week _. She said that, right?"_

"Uh...w-well, yeah, but-"

" _No buts. I honestly think I_ could _be right about this."_

"What? Really?" Cody said in a hopeful tone.

" _If she wants you to stay that long, then yeah, maybe. Like I said, she never lets anyone in her life just like that. Sure, she can be friends with them, but in an intimate sense, she can keep her moniker as the loner pretty well. And I really do think she may have an interest towards ya, Codemeister."_

"...I...I don't know."

" _Cody, I mean it, don't sell yourself short. You matured into a very great guy, and you deserve to be with someone. I think you and Gwen could really hit it off. Just always be yourself, alright?"_

Cody sat there, contemplating what his friend had told him...

"...You really think I have a chance?" Cody asked Trent.

" _Absolutely. You two would make a great couple. You always check up and talk to her whenever it's convenient, you listen to what she has to say, and you make her laugh! I think you can make Gwen happy, and...well, you're certainly the best candidate for that."_

"Whoa...Trent..." Cody said, touched to hear his friend would speak so highly of him.

" _You got this Cody. Make her happy, make a good impression, and just be yourself. I know you can get the girl."_

Cody smiled gratefully, almost shedding a few tears. "...Thanks Trent."

" _No problem, buddy. Now go out there and plan your get-together with Gwen."_

The chestnut haired man chuckles. "Sure thing. Thanks again, man. I really appreciate this talk."

" _Anytime. I'll talk to you later, okay?"_

"I'll talk to you later too! See ya Trent."

" _See ya Codemeister!"_

Ending the call, Cody sat back and relaxed in his chair, thinking about the words Trent had told him, as well as the possibility of Gwen liking him that way...

He smiled and sat back up, checking his schedule on his phone to see what day and week would be good to visit Gwen. When he found a good schedule to come over, he texted Gwen back and let her know, which she replied back saying, _"Great! Can't wait, Codemeister!"._

He felt happy about this. He felt positive about it, too. He wanted to let Gwen know that he cares for her, and that he changed from the dorky poser, to the real him.

 _'As for now, I have to play the waiting game.'_ Cody thought.

He then heard a growl rising from is stomach.

Blinking at the sound, he looked down at his stomach. "Oh...heh. Wow, I talked so long, I forgot to eat!"

With that, he got up from his chair and went to his kitchen downstairs to prepare his food. While he was doing that(he was heating up a pizza), he felt pretty excited about what's to come. First, graduation, and then, spending time with Gwen.

 _'Wow...things are actually looking up for me...'_ Cody thought as he waited for his pizza to heat up with a big heartfelt smile on his face.

* * *

 **I know what you're all thinking, GET TO THE GOOD STUFF! Hey, I'm trying. I have work now, and that kind of takes away some of my writing time. Also, as you can see, the plot of RE7 will take it's time to show up. The plot will probably kick off a little bit at the end of chapter three. Until then, it'll kind of be a slow development into the main story. That, and I just want you all to know that I'm still writing this. :)**

 **Believe me though, it'll get good, so be hyped. I'm really more excited to get to the horror myself, but I don't want to rush it. So do please be patient. ;)**

 **But yeah, are you all feeling excited or whatnot? How did you all like the character development on Cody and Gwen's part? I hope it's all believable! I also hope Gwen being a pediatrician sounds okay. I like to develop certain characters in TD, like any other good TD author who writes good stories, like Rufus T. Serenity, and TDDolphin, and Kobold Necromancer(man I miss that guy.). I hope it all sounds good.**

 **Anyways, how is the chapter? Is it interesting? Are you hyped for more? Please tell me with a review! Also, if you do like it, maybe you can follow and/or fave it! :D**

 **As for now, thank you all for reading, and keep on rocking everybody! See y'all later! ^_^**

 **-TSP**


	3. The Job

Graduation has come and gone for the college undergraduates, and soon, they'll either head off to their designated institutes of learning or go off to their internships after the summer break. This next step into these young adults lives will shape into what they were meant to do.

But until then, Cody was waiting for a more special occasion; going on his trip to see Gwen.

After his graduation on Saturday, he spent his first four days of summer vacation back at his parents' house in Mississauga. His parents were there for his graduation in Seattle, which he was really happy to see them there. It kind of surprised him, as he thought they(especially his mother) would be too busy to come to this important moment of his life. Nonetheless, it touched him that they came to see him graduate.

Now in his old room on his PC, he was playing an MMORPG with some of his friends online, wearing a headset as he talked to them while slaying mythical creatures.

"AWWW YEAH!" Cody exclaimed as he 'slain' a behemoth in the game.

" _Aaaand you took away my extra experience points that I was trying to get. Super. Thanks, Codemeister."_ said the sarcastic voice of Noah.

"Hey, you got be quick to catch up, Noah!" boasted Cody. "Besides, you didn't need them anyway. You're already at level 80!"

" _And you're at level 85!"_ Noah exclaimed irritably.

Cody laughed. "Sorry man, I can't help it! I just love it when a behemoth falls!"

" _Ugh. Just at least let me kill the orc captain."_ Noah pleaded.

Cody chuckled. "Go ahead. I promise I won't interfere."

" _Yeah, I bet,"_ Noah says, Cody practically feeling his eyes roll.

" _I thought it was a pretty good shot. Noah was actually a little too slow to take it down."_ said the voice of Harold, his tone teasing.

" _Oh screw you. You're two levels ahead of Cody!"_ Noah said in frustration.

Cody laughed again. "Okay, for real, you can have the orc captain, Noah. I won't interfere. And let's not bug him anymore, Harold."

" _Okay, that's cool,"_ Harold said, possibly shrugging.

" _Seriously, you're both just doing this to ridicule me,"_ Noah said in a dull tone.

"Aw, come on Noah, I mean it. You can have the orc captain. Look, he even has his eyes on you." Cody said.

" _That better not be a gay joke,"_ Noah growled through the mike.

"I couldn't think of a better way of saying it in time, so I came up with the first thing in my head. Sorry." Cody winced.

" _Okay. I'll give that a pass then."_

"Just wondering, but are they still spreading gay rumors about us?" Cody asked out of morbid curiosity.

" _The fanfic count of us is still growing, so I'm going to have to say 'yes',"_ Noah said with a groan.

Cody cringed. "Yeesh. Sorry I asked."

Harold chuckled. " _Who ought to bet half of those fanfics were written by Sierra before she mellowed out?"_

" _Somehow, I wouldn't be surprised."_ Noah droned.

"Aw come on, guys. She really has calmed down after her stalker stage." Cody said in her defense.

" _That's only because she_ finally _found someone,"_ Noah said monotonously.

It was then a third voice came into the game.

" _Hey guys! Sorry I'm late, was talking to Sierra on the phone!"_ said the voice of a more mature sounding Cameron.

Cody chuckled. "Hey, no prob, Cam! How are ya?"

Cameron chuckled. " _Doing good! Finally got my degree in technical engineering!"_

"Good for you, Cam!" Cody said with a smile.

" _Yeah! Totally awesome, little guy!"_ Harold congratulated. " _I had a sense of great pride when I got my degree in counseling!"_

" _You did good, Cameron,"_ Noah said in sincere praise.

" _Aw, shucks! You guys have way cooler degrees than me."_ Cameron modestly said.

"Are you kidding? You could be the next Tony Stark!" Cody complimented him.

" _Cody, he's a comic book character,"_ Noah said with an unseen eye roll.

"You know what I mean, Noah." Cody rolled his eyes as well.

" _Aw, come on guys, don't make me blush here,"_ Cameron said with a hint of bashfulness.

"Well, it's true," Cody said with a smirk. "By the way, how's Sierra?"

" _Oh, she's doing great! She graduated culinary school and is thinking of opening her own bakery!"_ Cameron told them with excitement.

" _Funny enough, we were talking about her a while ago,"_ Noah commented. " _Aaaand I killed the Orc captain. I feel a little better."_

" _Really? I hope it was good things."_ Cameron said a little cautious. " _She has been doing well on chilling out."_

"Don't worry, Cam, we know. Harold just made the joke that she still writes...um...me and Noah in a gay relationship."

" _Which we need to confirm from you, she's still not doing that, is she?"_ Noah asked Cameron.

"Noah!" Cody said aggravated.

" _Hey, my girlfriend won't stop reading them. It's like a fantasy dream come true for her. And you know how crazy_ she _is."_ Noah complained.

" _How is Izzy, by the way?"_ Harold asked.

" _Oh you know, still a kind-hearted little kook. She's doing a good job as a zookeeper, plus she's rocking that bod."_ Noah commented, a smirk evident in his tone.

" _Um...well to answer Noah's question, uh...no?"_ Cameron answered in confusion.

" _Okay then. I just need to confiscate Izzy's smartphone when we go out, cause she is addicted to that crap."_ Noah said with a sigh. " _Still, she's a great kisser. Really wild one to be exact. I remember the one time-"_

"Okay Noah, that's quite alright, we don't need to necessarily know this." Cody cringed.

" _Okay, fine. I won't talk about my past erotic intimacy with my girlfriend."_ Noah said, clearly smirking at that.

" _We thank you for that,"_ Harold said, probably cringing as well.

" _Oh come on, Harold, don't tell me you get a booty call from Leshawna every once in a while?"_ Noah asked him.

" _Hey now, that is the privacy between me and milady,"_ Harold said chivalrously.

"How is Leshawna, if I may ask?" Cody asked Harold.

" _Oh, she's doing great! She's really enjoying her work at the dance studio with all the hip-hop dancing she does. Girl is_ fine _when she does it."_ Harold comments.

" _Well, you're using your slang appropriately."_ Noah drawled.

" _Cut me some slack, jack, my girl got me hooked talking like this, ya hear?"_ Harold said with the perfect accent as well.

Everyone was silent for a full second.

" _...Wow. Hardcore."_ Cameron said, impressed.

" _Great. Leshawna unknowingly created a monster."_ Noah says sardonically.

" _Man, don't be dissing my girl,"_ Harold says.

"Okay, that gets a little old after a while, Harold," Cody tells him.

" _Aight, aight, I'm done."_ Harold finished saying.

" _Please, for the love of humanity, do be_ done _,"_ Noah said in humorous relief.

Cody chortled at his two friends banter, as well as Cameron.

" _Actually Cody,"_ Cameron began to say once his laughter subsided. " _Since we're talking about women, how is Gwen?"_

Cody straightened and his hands on the keyboard stopped for a second. "Gwen? Wha-well, um, wh-why would..."

" _Cody, Golem at one o'clock!"_ Harold warned him.

"Ack!" Cody was instantly on his virtual feet again as he zapped a magic spell at the rock creature, obliterating it.

" _Nice shot."_ Noah complimented, but his voice was still monotone.

"Thanks," Cody said. "So, um...why did you ask me about Gwen, Cam?"

" _Well...you two have been talking a lot recently from what I heard from you on yours, mine, Mike, and Zoey's Skype chat, so I thought...well, you and her might have hooked up sometime during this year."_

" _Yeah, you_ have _been telling me and Harold about you and Pasty's relationship a_ lot _lately during our play sessions on here."_ Noah reminded Cody. The chestnut-haired young man could just _feel_ Noah's grin.

"W-Well...I'm just...communicating with her regularly is all. And no, we...haven't hooked up. I mean, she's in Houston right now, so I don't think a long distance relationship could work out as of this moment." Cody said nervously, trying to find a way to steer this conversation away from his love life.

" _Really?"_ Noah said in dull disbelief. " _Come on,_ Codemeister _, you guys have been dancing around this for too long."_

" _Yeah. Come on dude, you got to man up,"_ agreed Harold. " _You could still seal the deal with your relationship with Gwen. It's been like, what? Four years into our college lives? We know you still like her. We can tell by the way you're speaking right now. Plus, you're always on alert when an enemy is about to attack, yet you didn't see the giant Golem coming your way."_

"Uh...w-well, I-I mean, yeah, I...I still like her. It's just that..." Cody let it die from there as his face heated up, and even then, he feels like they could see his embarrassment.

" _Aw, come on Cody,"_ reassured Cameron. " _You and Gwen have come to good terms with each other for four years. You guys are actually good friends now. Like you said, you acted like yourself, and she liked that. And that's what you got to be; yourself. You can get Gwen, we know you can. I mean, she's still single! That's saying something there! Maybe she wants to let you make the move."_

Cody sat there, playing his character, as he half-contemplated their advice and encouragement. He actually planned on saying that Gwen invited him to come over to Houston when he logged into their game session of "League of Warriors", but thought against it. He didn't want to sound like he was bragging, and at the same time, the boys would've given him a hard time about it.

He really was nervous about the whole thing, honestly. Granted, he _was_ excited to see Gwen, but what if he made a fool of himself while he was there? What if he came back to being the socially awkward geek that he's known for?

With a sigh, Cody decided to just tell them the news. "Well...actually, I'm gonna see Gwen in Houston next month."

...There was silence.

" _...Wait a minute, what now?"_ Noah said in bafflement.

" _Whoa, Cody, you already took our advice even before we could tell you!?"_ Harold said astounded.

" _Wow...when did this happen?"_ Cameron asked him, a little astonished by this info.

"Uh, a-actually...Gwen invited me." Cody corrected them.

...There was more silence.

It was then Noah said. _"Are you serious?"_

Cody rubbed the back of his neck in anxiousness. "Well...I-I mean, she asked me last Friday if I like to visit her and all, s-so I said yes, and...in two weeks or so, after my visit from my parents, I'll catch a flight to Houston. I-I've already booked a flight and everything..."

…Even more silence.

" _...I think he_ is _serious."_ Cameron spoke.

" _Whoa, Cody my man...she_ invited _you?"_ Harold asked in surprise.

Cody's face flushed. "Uh...y-yeah..."

" _Uh...o-kaaay, if that's not a sure sign that she likes you, then I don't know what is,"_ Noah said incredulously.

"Aw, come on guys. I mean, she wouldn't have invited me over just because she has feelings for me...right?." Cody asked.

" _Cody, she wants you to travel thousands of miles just to see her,"_ Cameron said. _"I'm with Noah on this one, she could totally be into you!"_

"I...well, I mean..." Cody looked down at his keyboard, his words failing him as his expression turned unsure.

" _Cody? Your character isn't moving..."_ Cameron informed.

" _Uh, guys? Maybe we should help Cody out here."_ Harold suggested. _"We can't keep this up if he's distracted."_

" _Agreed. Let's get to a town, so we can log out properly."_ Noah advised.

"Whoa, wait a minute, guys! We can still play! I just...had to get my thoughts sorted out." Cody explained lamely as he controlled his character again.

" _Well, what could be the problem here? If I know you, you would be bouncing off the walls happy about this turn of events. Meeting up with Gwen has to be your number one dream-come-true right now."_ Noah said calmly.

"Well, yeah, but...I...I'm just-I'm just nervous, okay?" Cody said, his tone sounding anxious.

" _Why's that?"_ Cameron asked.

"I'm just...afraid that I won't be interesting enough for her. I mean, even if she was interested in me, why would she? I'm...I'm pretty much a geek."

" _Uh, so are we, and look what kind of women we bagged,"_ Noah said with a tone that sounds like it was obvious.

"I mean, well, you-you guys are different. I'm just...dorky and nerdy in the most boring way possible. I mean, what am I gonna talk to her about? My studies in computer science? She wouldn't be interested in that!" Cody said, panic slowly creeping up on him.

" _Cody, you can't be serious?"_ said a dumbfounded Cameron. _"You and Gwen talk almost constantly on Skype. So far from what I heard, she likes talking to you!"_

"Well, yeah, but-"

" _Cody, my man, you really do need some self-confidence,"_ Harold said, giving him assurance. _"You're almost going back to that way of thinking of trying to be someone else. You don't want a repeat of Total Drama, do you?"_

Cody shivered at that. He didn't want to think about his so-called old 'persona' ever again. "W-Well...I...I just want her to find me _interesting._ "

" _You_ are _interesting, buddy!"_ Cameron said. _"You just gotta stop trying so hard and be_ you _. Gwen really does appreciate you opening up to her on being who you really are! She likes you for_ you _, Cody!"_

Cody sat there, wondering if this trip to see Gwen would be worth it...

He hasn't really fully met up with her in four years. He could talk to her on Skype because they were on screen, and he can be associated with talking to people on screens. But in person? It was making him sweat just thinking about it...

"...Do you...do you guys think I have a chance?" Cody decided to ask.

" _Of course, man,"_ Harold said sincerely.

" _Absolutely!"_ Cameron encouraged him.

" _Cody, just cause you have doubts about yourself, doesn't mean Gwen feels the same way. If you kept talking to her this long, then I say you have a great of a chance than any."_ Noah said sagely.

Cody was so touched by all the support, that he smiled gratefully. "Wow...thanks guys," he said sincerely.

" _No prob, Codemeister,"_ Noah said, his tone having a little mirth in it.

" _Yeah, no problem! We know you can do it!"_ Cameron cheered.

" _That's right. Go out there and get your gal!"_ Harold cheered as well.

Cody chuckled. "Thanks guys. I will."

" _Good. Now let's get back to slaying monsters here. Warriors don't talk about their love problems, you know?"_ Noah jest.

"Sure thing!" Cody said with a grin, renewed with confidence.

As they kept playing the game, Cody asked one last thing before they get into their zones. "Hey, have you all heard from Sam lately?"

" _Oh, well, last time I heard from him, he and Dakota were at California in Malibu,"_ Cameron answered.

" _Wow, that's lucky,"_ Harold says.

" _Goes with the territory with having a rich girlfriend,"_ Noah said monotonously.

"Ah, okay. Well, I wish Sam all the best in the world then." Cody said with a smile.

They continued their gaming session.

* * *

It was dinnertime, and Cody was at the table eating the food prepared by none other than his father, who was a sitting on the other side of the table next to his son. His mother was still in her work space, but she promised to come home tonight. Mr. Anderson came in around late afternoon and fixed up some stir-fry.

Cody's father was quite the tall man, his physique being a little lanky as well, but he was really handsome. He almost looks like an older Cody, except with his full short brown beard covering the bottom of his face and the glasses that were on his face.

While Cody's mother was always busy, his father was at least available whenever Cody need a parental figure. Granted he was busy as well, but his work hours are a little shorter. Not only that he was there more often, they also have a good father-son relationship. In fact, his father was the one who showed him how computers work and introduced him to video games. He has a job in a computer company in Toronto, which to Cody, sounded like a dream job. But from learning all that he has to learn about computer science, he sees that it takes a lot of knowledge to be in the profession.

Right now, they were discussing on what Cody's plan throughout the summer would be while they were finishing up their meal. Mr. Anderson began saying to son, "So, Cody, what are your plans while you're here?"

Cody swallowed a piece of beef. "Oh, nothing much. Just probably hanging out with the guys, waste time at the city, and chill for the rest of my stay here. Maybe even go to the video game convention in town. Why you ask?"

"Oh, well, that's convenient, cause I thought maybe you would like to go to the video game convention in Toronto with me." Mr. Anderson said with a smile.

"Huh?" Cody said in surprise. "You want to go to the convention with me?"

"Sure! I like to see what kind of games the kids are playing these days. I already have a day off, so maybe I could buy a ticket! I mean, if that's okay?" Mr. Anderson asked his son.

Cody looked at his father and couldn't help but smile himself. "Absolutely! That'll be awesome!"

Soon a vibration went off in his pocket, indicating that someone left a text message on Cody's phone. Feeling it, he pulled out the phone and looked at the text message on his screen.

It was a message from Gwen.

 _Hey, Cody. If you're eating dinner right now, I'm really so sorry to interrupt, but is it okay if we talk on the phone for a moment?_

Mr. Anderson sees the puzzled expression that is on Cody's face and said in concern. "What's wrong, son?"

Cody snapped out of his thoughts. "Oh, um, nothing...I hope. I enjoyed the meal, Dad, but right now, I got to talk to Gwen."

"Gwen? Is everything alright with her?" his father asked in concern as well. Cody mentioned Gwen on his home calls, telling him and his mother that she and he are good friends now.

His father actually knows about Gwen when he watched _Total Drama_ to see his son on the show. He felt pretty bad for his son when he first saw the first season of him in it, his son trying to act like someone he wasn't. He really couldn't watch all of it, but not because he was embarrassed(well, he was embarrassed _for_ him, but not at him in general). It was mostly because he didn't like how the show treated his son. He was really glad that he's now away from reality TV fame and studying for his future. Also, he's _really_ glad that he's now only _just friends_ with Sierra. He only watched a little bit of _World Tour,_ and he was truly afraid for Cody when Sierra entered the picture. He honestly feared for his son's love life and hoped he wouldn't crack under the pressure to be Sierra's boyfriend.

Cody's mother couldn't watch the show because she was so busy with her work at the time, and she honestly felt bad about it, but Cody told her that she wasn't missing anything. She did hear about Gwen from his home calls, and although Cody told her that she was a quote unquote "Gothic beauty", he explained further that she was a very awesome and talented person, and she's in a great school in Texas, which eased Mrs. Anderson's suspicions a bit. She felt like her son really did like this Gwen, and she often joked about her being his girlfriend, which makes Cody feel embarrassed.

Although his mother works non-stop and cuts their mother-son calls short, she really does love Cody and is trying to make the best for his future, as well as try to be there for him.

"I don't know. I'm sorry Dad, I'll be right back."

He got up and made his way to his room, which was on the first floor, as the house was a nice wide expansive ranch style home. Closing the door to his room, he texted back.

 _Yeah, sure. I've finished dinner anyway, so no worries._

After a few seconds, Gwen texted again.

 _Good. I just want your opinion on something. I'll call right now._

 _'I wonder what it could be...'_ thought Cody.

Soon, his phone rang. He answered the phone. "Gwen? Is everything okay?"

" _The cancer is back, Cody."_

Cody froze. "Wh-...what?"

" _It's back, Cody. Derek's cancer is back."_

"Wha-...are you...I mean...oh Gwen, I'm so sorry." Cody said with deep sincerity.

" _I can't believe this...I thought for certain it wouldn't come back."_

Cody frowned in sympathy for Gwen. "Gwen..."

" _I wish I knew more, I wish I can do surgery to get this damn condition out! I just..."_

Cody felt for her. He may not have any siblings, but he has cousins that he loves. And if anything bad happened to them like this, it would break his heart.

He could hear Gwen sigh in melancholy on the other line. _"Cody...I didn't want this to happen."_

He didn't know what to say to that. How can he? He couldn't just say 'Well, that's life.', but he really couldn't think of anything to say to make her feel better.

That was until Gwen said. _"I'm sorry, Cody. I didn't mean to call you like this, it's just...I want to vent."_

Cody nodded, not knowing why he did that since he's on the phone, but he guesses it's for effect. "Hey...I understand."

He heard Gwen sigh once more. _"...That's not what I wanted to ask you though."_

"What is it you wanted to ask?"

" _...Earlier today, I got a call at my home. We let it left a message since we didn't know who it was on the caller ID. It was a man asking for a babysitting job. He was asking if I could look over his daughter on a cruise."_

"Wait... _on_ the cruise? A-And this man was asking you for a babysitting job? Did you know him?" Cody asked in confusion.

" _No, but he said he looked me up my profile on the site that I advertise to babysit kids. He read that I was a little knowledgeable in the medical field, which I kind of am, but..."_ she sighed again. _"Anyways, this was before the doctors found the cancer in Derek again. The pay was actually_ really _good, and I was tempted at first, but I wasn't thinking of taking the job because the cruise's route was gonna be in Central America in Belize, which I'll have to stay for several days."_

"Wait, _really_? Central America?" Cody asked in surprise.

" _Yeah...I don't like to be away from family for too long. We let the message go on, and I didn't erase it, because like I said, I thought it was a good offer except for the distance. But now that Derek's...cancer has come back, I'm rethinking the whole thing."_

Cody understands the situation she's going through. However, this seems kind of suspicious. He had to ask. "Did the man told you his name?"

" _Yes. He said his name is Alan Droney, and his daughter's name is Eveline."_

"Okay...did he say what amount he was gonna give you?"

" _Well, he mentioned it was going to be a hundred dollars a day. I mean...I don't know, I really want to help Derek, but...I'm just cautious. I could call him and get more details, but if this pans out to be something good, I don't want to pass it up...Cody, I don't want this cancer to take my brother like it did my father. I...I want to have enough money to get his next operation started...what do I do?"_

Feeling the heartstrings pull for her, Cody was thinking about it. "Well...first of all, if you do decide to take this job, be sure to let him meet where _you_ are. And when you meet up with this Alan, make sure you bring a gun if he's some sort of criminal."

Gwen chuckled mirthlessly. _"Don't worry, Cody. I watch too many thrillers to know about that situation."_

"Okay, good. Also, maybe you should bring someone with you just in case. Someone who can watch out for you."

" _Courtney and her boyfriend could come with me."_

Cody nodded. "Okay, that's good too..." he scratched his head. "Well...all I can say now is that if you feel like this job is legit and if this is what you want to do, then you should take it."

Gwen was silent on the other line, probably mulling it over.

" _...I need to help my brother...I'm gonna take the risk and accept this job."_

Cody smiled softly. "Okay. You might need to call him back then. But again Gwen, be careful."

" _Hey, don't worry, Codemeister."_ he could hear Gwen chuckling on the other line. " _I'm not a second-degree black-belt in Taekwondo for nothing."_

Cody smirked. "At a girl."

Gwen giggled back on the other line. _"Thanks, Cody..."_ she paused for a second. _"...Just...pray and hope for the best."_

He nodded with a solemn frown. "I will."

" _Thanks...I'll call you back to tell you the verdict."_

He nodded once more. "Okay..."

" _...I'm really looking forward to seeing you."_

Cody blinked, his heartbeat going fast. "Wh-wha...you are?"

" _Of course...I-I better go...I'll...I'll see ya later, okay?"_

"Uh...y-yeah, I'll-I'll see you later too, Gwen."

" _Heh...bye."_

"B-Bye..."

Gwen hung up the phone, but Cody was still standing there with a dumbfounded look on his face.

 _'She...she's looking forward to seeing me?'_

"Cody?" his dad said with a knock on his door.

Cody jumped and turned around to his door. "Uh, y-you can come in!"

His father opened the door and came into his room. "Is everything okay with Gwen, Cody?"

"Um...well...actually...her brother..." he sighs. "Her brother's cancer came back."

Mr. Anderson's expression turned grim. "Oh no..."

"Yeah...she says she was going to take a babysitting job to help pay some of his expenses. She was going to watch someone's daughter on a cruise to Central America."

His father raised an eyebrow. "Really? Does...this affect your visit with her?"

Cody told his parents about his visit with Gwen next month, and although they were happy that he could spend time with his crush, they didn't want him to be _too_ intimate with her, as well as try to impress her by being someone else.

"I wouldn't think so...it could be five days or less while she's on the cruise..." Cody's lips turned to a thin line as he thought about the possibility of this being a scam. "...I hope she'll be okay."

Mr. Anderson looked at his son in concern. "Hey..." he puts a hand on his son's shoulder to comfort him. "Gwen sounds like a very smart girl...I'm sure she'll know what to do..."

He glanced up at his dad and smiled at his reassurance. "Yeah...she'll figure things out."

Cody's father smiled as well. "Your mother and I are really proud of you, son."

Blinking at the praise in surprise, Cody's smile then became even warmer. "Thanks, Dad."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Gwen called Cody back and gave him the info.

The man named Alan explained himself saying that he had to leave on Friday for the cruise, and his daughter's babysitter was injured, making her unable to take care of her. Gwen asked him first and foremost what he does, and he said that he's a researcher in a pharmaceutical company, Siyanacorp, which specializes in natural medicine. He tells her that he's going over to Central America to look over rare plants to try and cross breed them and make a natural antidote for certain illnesses. He was bringing his daughter along for the trip while he was looking for these flowers, and he was hoping to find a babysitter before he goes. After scheduling a time to meet up tomorrow and discuss the requirements of taking care of his daughter(which the conversation sounded honest enough), she hung up and looked up the company's name to see if it was a real company. It was, in fact, a legit corporation, as one of their branches were located in Houston.

Cody still was a little cautious about the whole thing, but Gwen reassured him that this whole thing honestly now sounded like it was the real deal. The man Alan even told her to meet up with him at a public cafe in the city so they could discuss what she needs to do. She even said that his daughter had a condition where she couldn't go out in the sun for very long, which was why Alan was getting the flowers in the first place and was asking about her medical field experience.

Feeling a little better about this information, Cody told her that if she thinks this job is legit, then she should go for it.

Until then, Gwen has to check up on this job's requirements, and see if she'll take it.

* * *

The next day, which was a Thursday afternoon, Cody was in his room on his bed, playing a Mario game on his Nintendo 3DS.

"You know, I wonder why Bowser keeps kidnapping Peach in every game? That ought to get tiring after a while. I mean sure, she's pretty, but how would that even work if they even _did_ somehow get together? He's a reptile creature and Peach is...well, a human, I guess. And Bowser keeps kidnapping Peach like almost constantly. I wouldn't think she appreciates being kidnapped every time just because he's hooked up on her. ...Hm, that sounds almost like Sierra..." Cody paused his rambling as he kept playing the game. "...I'm debating a video game relationship from Mario..." he then actually paused the game and sighed. "Man...I wonder what's happening with Gwen right now...I hope she's okay..."

Then, as if on cue, his phone rings.

Surprised, Cody quickly grabbed the phone to see who it is.

It was Gwen.

He answered the call. "Gwen?"

" _Codemeister! Hey! I decided to take the job!"_

"You did?" Cody asked, a little shocked.

" _Yeah! The guy Alan was really nice, and he told me that I'll get paid a hundred dollars a day during my trip! I didn't meet his daughter of course, because of her condition, but he showed me a picture of her on his phone."_

"Really?" Cody wanted to make sure. "Was she in a fake background? Did she look too old, or-"

" _Cody,_ don't _worry. Sheesh, you sound like my mom."_ Gwen snickered. _"But seriously, I feel like he's the real deal. The picture was just her sitting on a bed...although she did look like she was spaced out. I did ask more about her condition and what I need to do, and he said that she has a sensitivity to light, so I need to keep her in the cruise ship at all times. He also added that she's shy, and I should just be myself when I'm around her. She also likes to draw, which I think so far we have that much in common. She kind of looks like a younger me to be honest."_

"Oh...o-okay. I-I'm sorry Gwen, I just...want to make sure." Cody said, feeling a little bad for not trusting her judgment.

" _Hey, no worries, I understand. I was still a little skeptical myself. Heck, I even told Courtney and her boyfriend to keep an eye on me and the guy in the cafe in separate cars."_

"Oh, okay...so...you got the babysitting job, huh?"

Gwen snorted in good humor, sensing a smile forming on the other line. "Uh, yeah, Cody. I just told you."

Cody chuckled at the obviousness of what he said. "Sorry, it's just..." he paused for a second. "Actually...that won't affect my trip over in Houston, will it?"

" _Oh no, not at all! You don't have to worry about that. Alan said the company's cruise ship is pretty fast, and he estimated that I could be at sea for four days. He'll be staying at Belize for a day, and then we'll come back for another four days at sea. That'll make it nine days, so I'll be back home until then. I'm scheduled when to meet him at the Port of Galveston."_

"Oh, okay," Cody said again, feeling a little forlorn about Gwen going off to a different country. "Well...alright then. I...guess you're all set."

" _...Cody? Are you okay?"_

Cody sighed, "I'm sorry, Gwen, I just...I'll miss you is all. And I want you to be safe."

" _Cody...I'll be fine. You don't have to worry about me. I mean, we have been in the TD Jumbo Jet, remember? I can take care of myself."_

"I know you can." He said immediately. "It's just...w-well..."

There was silence on both lines.

" _...Cody?"_

"I'm here. I just..." he swallowed, feeling nervous.

Should he say it? Should this be the time to tell her?

...No. He couldn't. She has to do this for her brother. He couldn't sound selfish...he just has to hope that everything goes well for this cruise for Gwen.

"...I just want you to be okay not only for me, but for Derek, and your mom."

A silence was on Gwen's line.

Cody kept talking in order to be more clearer. "Look, I know you _need_ to do this, I _absolutely_ do, and I know you're a tough girl. Heck, one of the toughest girls I know. And I'm not trying to guilt trip you into not taking this job or anything utterly stupid like that. No, I know this is important to you. I just..." he sighs, feeling trapped at trying to explain. "...I just want you to come back to us safe and sound."

Gwen was still silent on the other line.

Cody felt like he said too much and made himself look like a fool, _as usual_.

"I-I'm sorry Gwen, I-I shouldn't have said anything. I-I didn't-I-I wasn't-"

" _Cody..."_ Gwen softly interrupted him. _"...It's okay. Don't worry, I understand where you're coming from. I really do."_

Cody sat on his bed in a frozen state. "You...you do?"

" _Yeah. And I really appreciate what you said, Cody. ...Thank you for thinking of me."_ she said with such sweet sincerity.

The chestnut haired boy felt like there was a hidden message behind what she said, but he didn't want to think too much into it. He was just happy that she didn't misunderstand what he was trying to convey.

"I...y-...you're welcome. A-Anytime."

Gwen softly chuckled. _"Well, I better pack up for tomorrow. I'll be leaving early in the morning for the cruise."_

"Oh, right! I, um, I'll...I'll let you go..."

" _Heh...thanks for always being there for me, Cody."_

"Of course. I mean...yeah...no prob." Cody said with a smile. "And hey! Maybe you can take pictures of the cruise! Maybe even with that girl, um...what's her name again?"

" _Eveline. And sure! I'll do that. Oh, also, I'll keep in touch with friends and family, so I'll be calling every often to tell you and everyone else how it goes."_

Cody smirked. "That's great. Have a fun trip, Gwen."

" _Thanks...I'll see you around, Codemeister."_

He smiled warmly at her voice. "I'll see you around too. Bye."

" _Bye."_

They hung up. Cody placed his phone next to him on his bed and sat there for a moment, thinking of their conversation...

 _'Yeah...I do have a chance.'_

Cody smiled happily at the thought.

* * *

Friday morning had come, and at this moment, Gwen was driving to her destination.

While Cody was living through his day, he waited patiently for Gwen to call during the afternoon. He was on edge, wondering if she was okay on the cruise.

It was the nighttime, and Cody was starting to almost get worried. He knew Gwen could take care of herself, but it still irks him that she hasn't called as of yet...

Maybe he's just paranoid...

He and his parents were watching a show on television in their den area. Cody was looking at his phone which was on his side of the couch's armrest every ten seconds.

"Cody Dear? Is something wrong?" Cody's mother said in question as she notices her son's constant fidgets to look at his phone. "You keep looking at your phone frantically." His mother has short dirty blonde hair and was quite beautiful.

Cody turned to his mother, "Oh, uh, no, it's just...I'm waiting for someone to call."

Mr. Anderson smirked, "It wouldn't happen to be Gwen, would it?"

"Oh, you're waiting for Gwen to call?" Mrs. Anderson said in delight.

"Uh...yes, on both accounts," Cody said with a blush.

"Oh my, your relationship with Gwen sounds pretty serious if you're waiting for her to call. She's on a cruise right now, isn't she?" Mrs. Anderson asked.

"M-Mom, we're not...well, _that_ serious," Cody said a little bashfully. "And yeah, she's on a cruise. She's babysitting someone's daughter right now."

"Well, she could be tied up with babysitting with this girl right now, Cody. You just have to have patience." Mr. Anderson said to his son.

"I know. I just-" then all of a sudden, his phone rings. He then grabbed his phone in neck-break speed and looked at the screen to see who was calling him. It was none other than Gwen.

"I-uh, e-excuse me, it's Gwen! I'll be back!" Cody got in a heartbeat and dashed out in the hall adjacent to the den area.

Mr. Anderson chuckled at his retreating son and said to his wife. "Our boy is becoming very popular lately with his pen pal."

Mrs. Anderson chuckled as well. "Oh most definitely! I hope they hook up. She sounds like a very smart girl."

Meanwhile, Cody answered his phone and said. "Gwen?"

" _Hey, Codemeister!"_ Gwen said on the other line, sounding a little excited, but tired at the same time.

"Gwen! Hey, how are you? How's the cruise? Are you doing alright?" Cody asked, relieved that she sounded okay.

" _Oh, I'm doing great! The cruise went off pretty well! I'm in my room right now though, and man, I'm super tired. Taking care of Eveline sure worn me out. She was a handful from the get-go."_

"Heh, I take it that it you two hit it off well?" Cody asked with a smirk.

Gwen chuckled. _"You can say that. She was cautious of me at first, but once I showed her my artwork, she was instantly attached to me. We shared our artwork to each other and she wanted me to show her how I draw."_

"Aww, that's nice." Cody smiled at that.

" _Yeah. Later on, she wanted to me to play tag. Girl's a good runner, I tell you that much. Then after that, we played board games and watched a movie. She started to sleep during the end of it, so I put her to bed. All in all, it was a pretty good day."_

"Wow Gwen, that's great!" Cody said, happy to know that his friend/crush is having a good time with Eveline.

" _Yeah...it went pretty well...although, Alan was absent during my time with her. He said he had to work, but still, he wasn't present during the time I was playing with her."_

Cody frowned. "Huh...well, he probably had to do some important stuff. I mean, he is a researcher, so maybe he was doing all that equally important science-y stuff."

" _Yeah...but still, I had to tuck her in bed...I hope he at least gives her a kiss goodnight or something. It's almost like he's avoiding her."_

"Really? Was he gone all day?" Cody wondered.

" _Yeah, pretty much..."_ Gwen gave out a yawn. _"Whew! Sorry to cut this short, Codemeister, but I need some sleep."_

Cody smirked. "Hey, that's cool. You get some beauty rest, alright? You got plenty of more days to go."

Gwen snickered. _"That I do."_

Having a smile reach to his face, he said. "You know, you're doing a good thing not only to this Alan guy but to your brother as well."

" _Hm...yeah. This is all for Derek really...maybe I could ask Alan what kind of cure he's trying to make out of these flowers."_

"I think you should. Who knows? Maybe you're put on that ship for a reason."

" _Heh...maybe you're right, Codemeister."_

Cody chuckled at his nickname. "I'll let you go, Gwen. I'll talk to you later."

" _I'll see you later too, Cody! Bye!"_

"Bye!"

Once again, they hung up. Cody stood there in the hall with a sigh of relief.

 _'Everything is going well with her. That's good.'_

And so went on the rest of his night...

* * *

The next day was rather eventful for Cody.

He beaten an RPG video game, gotten all the collectibles, gotten the secret weapon, beaten it at one hundred percent, and also got the secret ending. He did this when he got up(almost in the afternoon), and went at it until later in the evening and at night. He just felt a surge of inspiration when he woke up in the morning, and he didn't want that to pass.

Or it could be that he's excited and he's anticipating for Gwen to call back later on tonight.

He was now on his bed after having supper, as well as going through his excitement-fueled, almost all-day marathon of video game playing. His phone was, of course, next to him on the bed. He was wearing earphones while listening to music on his phone as he relaxed.

 _'Man, I really do miss hearing from Gwen...she absolutely is one great gal...'_

Cody smiled as he thought of Gwen, how beautiful she is, how awesome she is...

"...I really got to tell her someday." Cody said to himself with resolute.

That was when his phone once again rang, the ringtone emitting through his earphones. Breaking out of his trance, he grabbed his phone, took the earphones out of his ears and the jack out of the phone to properly talk to it.

"Gwen?"

" _Hey, Cody,"_ Gwen answered sounding tired. However, her tone sounded unusual...

"Gwen! Hey!" Cody said with delight. "So, how's day two of your cruise?"

" _Oh, it's been...interesting..."_ she said, sounding a little hesitant.

Cody frowned in confusion. "Interesting? What do you mean?"

" _...Well...it...it was kind of strange."_

"Strange? Strange how?"

" _...Well, it was a decent day, I'll tell you that much, but...well, just when night came rolling through, Alan said something to me about Eveline while he came to check up on us, and Eveline said something to me that was...a little weird when I put her to bed."_

"Really? What did they say?"

" _...Well, Eveline and I were playing tag again for the third time today...heh, she seems to like to play that game. Anyways, we were playing tag, and Alan came up to us. He...acted kind of weird."_

"How weird?" Cody asked. For some reason, he was starting to not like where this conversation was going, and he was on alert.

" _Well...first of all, he wanted to speak to me in private. He then started asking me certain questions about Eveline, what she was doing, how she was acting...I mean, he did say it was for research on her illness, and he even said he was making sure she was okay. But...how he was acting was...kind of off."_

"Off?"

" _Yeah...he was...acting...sort of cold."_

"Cold? What do you mean by that?"

" _Like...he was asking me about Eveline in an...almost casual way. Especially when he asked me if she ever had any moments that looks like she's about to vomit."_

"What?"

" _He said it's part of her condition...but he said it so callously, it...was almost suspicious."_

Cody's frown deepened. That did sound a little fishy...he tried to think of a logical explanation. "Well...maybe he was so flooded with work on the ship, that he just got tired and wasn't thinking straight?"

" _That would make sense...but...when I returned back to Eveline, she asked me 'what did Alan want?'."_

"Yeah? So...?"

" _Cody, she called him by his first name."_

Cody blinked. "She did?"

" _Yeah. I asked her why she called him by his name, and she answered something like...'He's really not my dad.'..."_

"Wait, what now?" Cody said in shock, his eyes widened as he sat up in his bed.

" _Yeah...that's what I thought too. I asked her what she meant by that, and she said it's exactly what she said. I asked her if she was adopted, and she said...no."_

"What?" Cody said, his face contorted in concern.

" _That's not all. Of course, I was...well, kind of bothered by that, but Eveline seemed kind of happy when it came to being around me. I was at that point wanting to know where Alan was so I could ask him, but the doors are high tech with card keys and I can't access to them. Plus, I don't even know where he might be. The ship is pretty large..."_

Cody had a disturbed look on his face. "Gwen...I don't like the sound of this."

" _...I have to be honest, I don't either. Anyways, I was thinking of looking for Alan after I sent her to bed. However, when I did, she said...something else that was...completely strange...I think."_

"What did she say?" Cody asked, feeling on edge.

" _...She said...'_ I _could be her mommy'."_

Cody blinked. "Her mommy?"

" _Yeah...I asked her what she meant by that, but she went to sleep..."_

Cody was beyond concern now. "Gwen...something's not right here."

" _...I don't know Cody, maybe it's part of her condition. Alan did say she was ill."_

"Did he say anything about her being _mentally_ ill?" Cody asked, an unsettling feeling in his stomach.

" _...Maybe...look, Cody, I'm gonna ask Alan tomorrow when I see him, don't worry."_

"Don't worry!?" Cody said incredulously. "Gwen, this doesn't sound right _at all_!"

" _Cody,_ please _,_ _don't panic on me_. _I don't even think Eveline can hurt anybody; she's a frail girl from what I got just by looking at her. And Alan_ has _to work with this company to ride this ship. Also, he has to be at least some sort of parental figure to Eveline. I just need some answers is all."_

Cody didn't know what to do at that point. Gwen was many miles away out at sea, and she could be stuck in a terrible situation for all he knows. She could be in terrible danger for all he knows!

When she noticed that Cody wasn't replying back, Gwen told him. _"Cody..._ don't worry _. I'll be fine...we're probably making a big deal out of nothing here. There has to be a logical explanation for all this."_

Cody rubbed his face in anxiety. "Okay...yeah, y-...you're right."

" _...Cody...I'll admit that I'm a little...freaked out right now by today's happenings, but it's going to be okay. I'll come back to all of you. I'll guarantee that."_

It was then he remembered Gwen's family. "Wait, what about your mom and Derek?! Have you told them about this?!"

" _Don't worry, I'm going to after I hang up. You're basically the first person I want to tell this to."_

Cody blinked what felt like the third time. "You...you wanted to tell me first?"

" _Absolutely. You're a great listener Cody, and..."_

Cody waited for her to finished... "Gwen?"

" _S-Sorry, I...I need some sleep. I probably need to wake up early anyway to try to catch Alan. ...But again Cody, don't worry about me. I can take care of this."_

Cody was silent for a while, trying hard not to object...

He sighed. "Okay, Gwen...but lock your door at least."

Gwen chuckled. _"I already did. Seriously, Codemeister, I'll be fine. I know Taekwondo, remember?"_

The tech geek had to smile at her confidence. "Okay Gwen...just...be careful."

" _I will...and I'll see you around, alright? There's no need to worry whatsoever, Cody."_

Cody smile turned warmer. "Yeah...no need to worry...I'll see ya around, Gwen..."

" _You too. ...Cody...you...you really are a great friend."_ Gwen said, almost as if she's contemplating on what she said.

"Hey...I'm looking out for my dream girl," Cody said with a smirk.

Gwen giggled. _"Thanks...well, I...guess I'll go now...bye."_

"Bye..." And with that, they ended their call.

Cody sat there on his bed, cross-legged as he gathered all his thoughts on everything that has happened during that phone call...

He frowned and placed two of his hands on his face, emitting a deep sigh. Rubbing his hands down on his face, he set them on his lap. He stared straight ahead, thinking about the 'what if' scenarios that could happen to Gwen...

He shook his head. "No...just...believe in her...just..." he sighed again, feeling hopeless. "...Please be okay, Gwen."

In the meantime, he decided to play some games to take his mind off the discouraging call.

He kept playing throughout the whole night...

* * *

The next day, which was a Sunday, Cody slept in. He stayed up so late last night playing games, thinking about Gwen's situation, that he almost slept the whole day away.

What's worse, is that he stirred all night as he slept. He didn't even bother to get in his covers; he was too stressed to try to be comfortable in his own bed. He probably went to sleep exactly around four _thirty_ in the morning.

 _KNOCK-KNOCK_

"Cody? Son?" called out Mr. Anderson from the other side of his door. "Are you alright in there?"

Cody groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. "W-...What?" he said groggily. "What now?" he called out to the door.

"Cody Sweetie, it's twelve thirty. Are you okay?" said a new voice, which belonged to his mother who sounded concern.

He was on his back as he turned his head to his alarm clock. It did indeed said 12:30 PM, now reaching to 12:31. He sluggishly sat up and groaned once more. "Mom? Dad?"

The door opened for his parents to come in. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson came in with concern looks on their faces.

"Is everything alright, Dear?" his mother asked.

Blinking his eyes, Cody adjusted them to see his parents in his room.

"Um...yeah. I mean..." he shook his head to get rid of the sleep in his head, grabbing and rubbing his forehead with his right hand.

"Did something happened to Gwen?" his father asked out of the blue. He heard his son playing video games while they were still in the bed and had a feeling his son was bothered by something. He always does that when he wants to get his mind off of certain things.

Cody's eyes then shot wide open. "Gwen?" he said in confusion. It was then he realized that Gwen was the reason for his unrest that night. "Gwen!"

Frantically looking for his phone on his bed, he found it and pushed on the home button on his iPhone, hoping there was a message of some kind.

There wasn't.

"Cody, is Gwen alright?" his mother said in alarm.

The chestnut-haired young man put a hand on his forehead. "I...I don't know..."

"You don't know? What do you mean?" Mr. Anderson asked curiously.

"I...I got a call from her and...some weird stuff happened to her..." Cody said, trying to gather his thoughts.

"Weird stuff? What kind? What happened?" Mrs. Anderson asked, trying to not sound at all frightened.

"Just...it was...I mean..." he looked at his parents who were looking at him in anticipation.

He was about to say something when his stomach growled in hunger.

Pausing for a moment to let it subside, he said to them. "Is...Is it okay if I eat something first?"

* * *

After getting something to eat, Cody explained to his parents about the phone call Gwen had given him. He told them about what Alan and Eveline said to her, and it bothered him to no end.

His parents reassured him that it could all be just a big misunderstanding and that he's blowing this out of proportion like Gwen said. But for some reason, Cody couldn't get the feeling of unsettling dread out of the back of his mind.

But even so, he went on with the rest of his day. Albeit, he did have his phone in his pocket at all times, waiting for _some_ form of call or message from Gwen.

After going through errands for his parents, and hanging out with some of his friends, his worries were getting less frequent. Sure, he was still thinking about Gwen, but he thought that maybe he _was_ blowing things out of proportion...

Besides, she'll call him later tonight like she did the last two nights. And then she'll tell him the details of what's going on...

* * *

Cody was laying on the couch with the TV on, watching a 'Doctor Who' marathon. It was ten at night, and he was watching another episode while waiting for Gwen to call...

He soon got tired and decided to rest for a little bit. He did have a busy day today...

He hoped Gwen had a productive day as well...

He woke up with a start as he was awakened by the sound of an explosion.

Startled, he jerked awake. He looked at the television to see that the explosion was only on the show.

 _'Oh, a Tardis blew up...'_ Cody looked down at his stomach, his phone resting on it. He grabbed it and looked at the time on it.

His eyes widened in shock.

 _11:25 PM_?

 _'Gwen hasn't called?'_ Cody thought in a panic. He shook his head. _'No, you shouldn't worry...Gwen's fine. She's probably just tired from babysitting...yeah...'_

He stared at his phone, hoping that by looking at it, it will magically ring. And on the other line would be Gwen...

...The TV on wasn't helping his thoughts.

He picked the remote up and turned off the TV. Setting the remote down on the couch, he sat there, looking at his phone...

 _'What's going on? Is...is Gwen in trouble?'_

Cody grunted. "Stop it! She's fine! Come on, Cody, she survived worse! I mean, she was on _four_ seasons of _Total Drama_ , for crying out loud!"

Then his phone rang.

The screen said it was from Gwen.

Blinking in surprise, but not wasting any time, he answered the phone.

"Gwen? Hey, what happened? What kept you? Is everythi-" Cody began, but it was then he noticed something odd...

She was breathing heavily.

"G-...Gwen? Wh-What's wrong?" he asked in concern.

Her breathing was fast and shuddering, almost as if it was laced...with fear...

" _Cody..."_

"Gwen...what's wrong? Where are you? What's going on? What _happened_?" Cody asked in a panic, desperate to hear her voice again.

" _Cody...you...you were right."_

Cody froze. "...What?"

" _This...this cruise...isn't what I thought it was."_

"...What...What do you mean?"

" _Cody...I...don't know if I'm gonna make it back."_

"What? Wh-What do you mean, Gwen, what do you _mean_!?" Cody raised his voice in high anxiety.

" _Cody..."_ she sounds like she's holding back a sob. _"I...I can't tell you everything...but...please tell my mom and...and Derek...that I love them..."_

A feeling of horror struck Cody. "Gwen, what is _happening_!? Why are you saying this!?"

" _Cody, please...please just tell them..."_ she choked on a sob. _"Tell them that I love them...and...tell all of our friends that...that I won't be coming_ back _."_ Gwen said the last word weakly.

"GWEN, WHAT IS GOING ON!? PLEASE JUST _TELL ME_!" Cody yelled desperately. He didn't mean to, but he was beyond scared right now. He was scared for his dream girl...he was scared for Gwen.

" _I-I can't Cody...I-I have a feeling that..."_ Gwen was now softly crying. _"...that you'll come and try to find me...but please...please_ don't _."_ Her voice cracked as she sounded hopeless. _"I don't...I don't want you involved...I'm so sorry, Cody, I...I wish I had more_ time _."_

Cody was hyperventilating, tears about to be shed. He lowered himself to the level of the seat cushion and prayed a silent prayer that she'll be alright.

"Gwen...please...I don't know what's going on! ...Just... _tell me_." he said tears now falling on his face. "I...I don't want to lose you!"

" _...Cody...I...I don't have much time...they're coming..."_

"Who, who's coming!?" Cody asked his emotions in a hysteria.

" _Cody...I love you."_

Cody froze at what she just said.

"...What?"

" _Goodbye, Cody...have a good life."_ She said with such sincerity.

She then hung up.

"G-Gwen?" Cody said in alarm. "Gwen...Gwen?" He stood up as he looked at the screen of his phone, his hand shaking. "Gwen?" he said to his phone, clearly in shock and not thinking quite clearly that no line is connected. "Gwen...GWEN!" Cody yelled out in desperation. " _GWEN!"_

* * *

 **Alright! That's the chapter! By the way, I'm sorry if I'm slow on updates. I have a job and I'm working on my GED, so please understand that my time on writing stories are limited. I'm lucky to get this finished during the week! I don't have work on Saturday or Sunday, so they're the only convenient days for me to fully write my stuff. But don't worry, I will most CERTAINLY keep writing the stories! ;D**

 **Anyways, how's the chapter? This is where things start to pick up! I hope I made it believable enough for you all! As I said before, things will be different in this TD retelling of RE7. ;)**

 **But yeah, tell me how I did! I love the reviews, faves, and follows you guys give me! ^_^**

 **Thank you all for reading this story so far! In the next chapter(which is kind of a spoiler), we'll see Cody visiting and comforting Gwen's family, as well as another TIMESKIP! :D**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I'll see you all in the next one! :)**

 **Keep on rocking everybody! 8D**

 **-TSP**


	4. The Message

**[EDITED: 3/7/2018]**

* * *

Cody was on a plane, sitting in his seat as he looked out the window. Expression full of anxiety, he looked at the passing clouds.

He couldn't believe this is happening.

As of now, he's flying from Toronto to Houston...but it wasn't going to be a special event. He's going there for one excruciating reason...and he's dreading it.

Cody sighed forlornly.

 _'How did all of this happened?'_

* * *

" _Cody!? What's going on, what happened!?" Cody's mother came into the den, along with his father. They heard him yelling out something, which woke them up out of their slumber. They saw their son standing there, the phone still in his hand. He stared back at it, a stunned look on his face..._

" _Cody?" his father said, instant worry spreading on his facial features. "What's wrong, son?"_

 _Cody stood there, not replying..._

" _Honey...what happened?" Cody's mother said in concern as she approached her son._

 _Cody slowly turned his head to his parents. "I...I have to go."_

 _His parents blinked._

" _Go? Cody, it's close to midnight. Where are you going?" Mr. Anderson asked in worry._

 _Cody was silent, not knowing what to say..._

" _Dear...did something happened to Gwen?" Mrs. Anderson asked, hoping her intuition is wrong._

" _...Yes." Cody answered softly, almost as if he's in disbelief._

 _Mrs. Anderson's eyes widened in terror, while Mr. Anderson looked really concerned._

" _Son...what happened to her?" Mr. Anderson asked his son in a soft haunted tone._

" _...I don't know." was Cody's grim answer._

 _They all stood there, letting it all sink in..._

 _Not wanting to see his son in such a grieving state, his mother went to her son and gave him a comforting hug. His father decided to comfort him as well with a hand on Cody's shoulder._

 _Cody couldn't believe these circumstances right now._

 _What happened to Gwen?_

 _What was she hiding from?_

 _Did...did she survive?_

" _Mom...Dad...I'm sorry, I...I have to go to Houston early."_

 _His mother lets go of him, giving him a shocked look on her face, while his father gave him a look of understanding._

" _N-Now? Cody, what are you gonna do?" Mrs. Anderson asked her son in concern._

" _I...Gwen...she asked me to tell her mother and brother...that..." Cody tried not to shed any tears. He just can't believe that this was happening._

" _Her mother and brother? Cody, wh-what happened to her? What was going on in that cruise?" his mother asked in a slight panic._

" _...I really don't know." Cody said in such a confused state. "She just sounded...so scared...so...terrified."_

 _Cody's mother felt uneasy about what Cody was describing. She turned to her husband, "Maxwell, we need to call someone."_

 _Cody's father, Maxwell, frowned solemnly. "Lisa-"_

" _W-We need to call the US Government, someone,_ anyone! _" Lisa said frantically._

" _Mom," Cody said softly, feeling hopeless._

" _Lisa, please-"_

" _Maybe the American Navy, or the American Coast Guard, or-or our Navy even!"_

" _Lisa, please calm down."_

" _Maxwell, I can't be calm! Something happened to Cody's friend!"_

" _Mom, please-"_

" _Who knows what happened to the girl!? We-we got to do_ something _!"_

" _Mom!" Cody raised his voice, which caused his mother to stop her panicked ranting, and turned to her son._

 _Cody looked determined, feeling a new resolve. "Mom...I need to go to Houston in the US. I have to tell Gwen's mother and brother about the news. I...I don't know what happened to her, but...she asked me to tell her family...that..." he tried once again to not shed any tears. "...she..." he shook his head. "Look, I just need to go."_

" _Cody, wait, we need to contact the authorities." his mother tried to reason._

" _Mom, just...let me do this...please...for Gwen," Cody said in a pleading tone._

 _Lisa looked at her son with worried eyes._

 _It was then his father said, "You might need a passport."_

 _Lisa looked at her husband incredulously. "Maxwell..."_

 _Even Cody was shocked. "Dad..."_

" _Son, you really have grown into a fine young man," Maxwell said with a soft melancholy smile. "You might need to pack a few things as well and reschedule your flight."_

 _Cody looked at him with such gratefulness. "Thanks, Dad...I know the airport closes in a few minutes, but I'll sleep at the hotel near it. I'll try to find a last minute flight until then."_

 _Maxwell nodded. "Be safe, son."_

 _Cody nodded back. "I will." he turned to his mother. "Mom...I'm sorry, but I have to do this. Please understand..."_

 _His mother looked at him with tears forming in her eyes. "Oh, I know, Cody...just be careful," she said with a hug to her son._

 _Cody returned it back. It was then his father joined the warm embrace, hugging his son as well._

* * *

Now, he's flying to Houston...to tell Gwen's mother and brother the horrible news...

Could he really do this?

A part of him likes to believe that Gwen is still alive out there, and that she's faring well with whatever is happening to her...but her voice being laced with fear was something that he could never forget...something that really sounded like she was in real trouble...almost as if she was certain that she wouldn't be coming back.

He shook his head. _'No...don't think that...she could still be alive and I don't even know it.'_

...But if he thinks that, then why is he doing this?

Cody blinked.

Actually...now that he thinks about it...what's the purpose of telling her mother and brother that she won't be coming back? They _need_ to hold onto some hope that she could be alive somewhere...right?

But the way Gwen sounded, so convinced that she _surely wasn't_ going to survive...

Surviving from what, he doesn't know. All he knows is that Gwen sounded scared...and it takes a lot for Gwen to get scared.

He shook his head once again and grunted. _'I really didn't think this through, did I?'_

He was so determined to fulfill Gwen's last wish, that he never thought of the consequences of what _would_ happen if he did tell them. Did her mother really wanted to know what happened to her daughter? What about her brother? They sounded like they were really close; could he tell him what might've happened to his sister?

Then an alarming thought stuck him.

 _'Wait...what if they don't know me? What if Gwen hadn't said anything about me?'_

Cody frowned at that. _'No, Gwen had to have told them about me at one time. Besides, I would think her mother and brother watched a little bit of_ Total Drama _, no matter how embarrassing it could be at times.'_

Nodding at that assumption, he looked out the window of his seat...

He then had another alarming thought in his mind.

 _'Wait...if they did saw the show...then they might have saw me do all those stupid creepy things with Gwen!'_

Cody cringed.

 _'Oh man...I really hope they don't label me as some sort of freak! Crap! I should've thought about the consequences of making a fool of myself while being on national television!'_

He put a hand on his face and groaned quietly. He turned to his left to see the passenger next to him is sound asleep. Turning back to the window, he gazed at the sky that was passing him by...

He looked at his reflection on the glass and frowned soberly.

"Well..." he said quietly, thankful that the air noise is drowning him out. "I'm here either way, flying to Houston to tell them the news..."

...He sighed.

 _'...I hope you're okay out there, Gwen.'_

* * *

After he checked in a hotel and got into his room, he had his laptop opened to try to search on the white pages for Gwen's family residence.

Her last name was Parker, which there was a dozen of Parker's in the pages of the Houston area, including in the suburbs. However, he was looking for one exact Parker residence, and that was on the north side of Houston somewhere around the suburb of Spring. Gwen mentioned living in that area to him one time on their Skype talks, so he looked for that last name to find any results.

Luckily enough, he came up with only _one_ address in the whole Spring area with the last name 'Parker'. It says 'Parker, Vanessa'.

 _'Alright...I just hope this is the right address.'_ He grabbed his phone and was about to call the number when he hesitated...

 _'Okay, just...just act natural. B-But not too natural...I mean, I have to act natural, but...this is about her daughter possibly being...'_ Cody cringed, feeling dread in his stomach. _'...I really hope I can get through this...'_

He sighed pitifully. "They don't deserve this...to have a daughter and a sister be taken away from them..." He shook his head and dialed the number. "I really hope this is the number though..."

When he put the phone to his ear, it rang...

...And rang...

...After the third ring, Cody was getting nervous.

Then after the fourth ring, it was picked up.

" _Hello?"_ said a mature woman's voice.

Cody gulped. "Um...is this Vanessa Parker?"

" _Um, yes...who is this?"_

"This is...t-this is...u-uh..."

" _...Wait a minute, does this something to do with my daughter?"_

Cody froze as his breath got caught in his throat. The way she asked it sounded so grave...and almost a tiny bit hopeful if Cody could decipher it.

 _'Yep...this is the right residence.'_ He thought grimly.

" _...Hello!? Is it!?"_

Cody jumped at the sudden urgent tone. _'Yikes! Okay, alright, no turning back now.'_ "Y-Yes...i-it is."

...There's silence.

He didn't know if she heard him, so he decided to repeat it again until he heard her repeat the previous question a while ago. _"Who is this?"_

Cody took a deep breath. "Mrs. Parker...this is...Cody Anderson..."

...There was more silence.

...Until Vanessa softly said. _"Oh my gosh...something happened to her..."_

He could _feel_ the fear in her voice.

Cody had to stay strong for this.

Before he could say anything else, she asked him, _"What happened? Gwen talked about you. Cody, isn't it? Please, tell me what happened to my daughter, she hasn't called last night! She usually does, but she didn't, what_ happened _!?"_

Cody sat there, feeling Mrs. Parker's anguish. He closed his eyes shut, not letting his tears slip away. "I...I don't really know."

" _What?"_

"She...she called me last night...and...s-she..." Could he do this? Does her mother really need to know the details? He felt like hyperventilating all over again, but he couldn't do that on the other line. He had to suck all this anxiety up.

"She...she sounded scared...and..." he swallowed air. "S-She sounded like she was running away from something...I don't know what, but...she...wanted to tell me...to tell you and her brother...that she loves you all..." Cody finished, his eyes still watering as one tear slipped away.

What felt like the third time, there was silence...

Cody frowned. "M-Mrs. Parker?"

" _...Cody, isn't it?"_

He blinked and gulped, "Yes..." He awaited whatever she'll say.

" _...Thank you...thank you so much..."_

Cody stayed silent...

" _It's...it's not what I wanted to hear, but...if she asked you to tell us that...then..._ t-thank you _..." Vanessa sounded like her voice cracked._

When Cody heard her voice break, he couldn't take it. "Mrs. Parker, I...I'm actually in Houston right now...I...I just...I don't know if Gwen ever talked about me too much, but-"

" _Oh, she has...she told us a lot about you."_

He eyes widened. "She has?" _'Please let it not be embarrassing things.'_

" _Yes. She told us about how you acted in Total Drama and throughout."_

 _'Oh crap, she did.'_ "U-Um, M-Mrs. Parker, I-I'm not like that anymor-"

" _But they were mostly nice things,"_ she told him just in time. _"She told us how you've matured into a good young man...and that she really appreciates your friendship with her."_

"Oh...w-well...u-um, okay..." Cody said awkwardly.

He felt as if Mrs. Parker was giving out a sad smile. _"I admit, when I first saw you trying to hit on my daughter on the show when it first aired, I didn't appreciate it...but after she told me that you decided to break out of your shell back at Toronto those four years ago, she was really impressed."_

Cody smiled softly at the information. "That's...that's good to know."

Vanessa hummed...she then asked, _"Cody...you said you're in Houston right now, correct?"_

"Um, yes ma'am. I just...I mean, come to think of it, I've already told you what I need to tell you, but I just...I don't know, maybe I could...maybe I could meet up with you and Derek? I mean...I-I don't want to...I don't want to make my presence be a burden to you all, but I just thought-"

" _Young man...Gwen spoke good things about you more than you would know...and maybe it's just to remember my daughter, but I like to hear what you two talked about on those Skype calls...maybe you can tell me what you like about my daughter...and I can tell you what she liked about you...will you be in the city for dinner?"_

"Uh...y-yes. I wanted to...well, Gwen wanted me to meet you all when I came. Did...did she mentioned that?"

" _Oh yes, she did. And Derek and I couldn't wait to meet you. She said such high praise about you."_

"Oh...w-well, I-I'm not that special..." Cody said with a flattered blush.

" _Well, you made my daughter genuinely happy."_

Cody straightened up. "I-I did?"

" _Mm-hmm. She's had it really tough in school, and seeing that she has someone to talk to that she trusts very deeply, not only makes her happy but makes me happy as well."_

Touched to hear that, Cody smiled softly again. "Th-...thank you, Mrs. Parker."

He somehow could feel another sad smile coming from Vanessa. _"Where are you staying?"_

Cody blinked. "Uh-um...a Holiday Inn Express."

" _...Would you like to come over to our house tonight?"_

He blinked again. "Uh...I mean, again, I don't want to be a burden-"

" _You are_ no _burden. I can tell from talking to you, that you are a very honest young man. How about after you eat, you can come over to our home and we'll...talk about Gwen."_

"...That...that would be nice."

Mrs. Parker hummed once more. _"...Cody...you said that you didn't know what happened to Gwen...do you...do you think she could still be alive?"_

Cody paused for a moment...he remembered what he thought about on the plane, how Gwen could withstand anything. "Mrs. Parker...I don't know for certain, but...I feel like if she can survive a totally deranged reality show, then I do have the feeling that...she's still out there somewhere. Whether she's hiding or if she's safe from whatever it is that's out there to get her...I feel like she'll be okay."

Vanessa was silent on the other line...until she said. _"That's good to hear, Cody. I need all the hope I can get."_

He smiled warmly, feeling good on giving Mrs. Parker hope. After asking if Cody had GPS on his rental car, Vanessa told him that she and Derek will see him around seven.

" _Again, Cody...thank you for making my daughter happy."_

Now Cody couldn't help but shed another tear as he smiled. "You're most welcome, Mrs. Parker."

And with that, he hung up...

Sitting there, he thought about the circumstances that were happening to the Parker family right now, with Gwen's brother Derek now being back to positive on his cancer. The whole reason for Gwen to have taken this cruise trip was to earn more money so she can help pay for the expensive operation on her brother and give some of it for research.

"...I need to do something for them." Cody muttered.

...He then decided.

* * *

 _'This is the place...I hope.'_ Cody thought in slight anxiety.

He stood in front of the supposed Parker residence, which was a nice one story traditional home. After driving through a fast food place to eat supper and eating in the parking lot in his car, he went over to where Gwen's mother and brother live.

He parked on the side of the curb and is now on their walkway. He was standing a little bit away from the door, trying to mentally prepare himself to go even further towards it.

He took a deep breath. "Well...here goes..." he advanced towards the door. Once he went up to it, he rang the doorbell.

He felt nervous...

The door opened to reveal a woman in her mid-forties, wearing glasses and a short-sleeved blue blouse, along with black jean pants. Her facial features almost looked like Gwen, even her black hair color. She actually looked like an older version of her daughter.

Her eyes also looked a little red...possibly from crying.

"Cody?" Vanessa asked with a sniffle.

Cody smiled tenderly. "Yes, ma'am."

Vanessa, through her grief, smiled as well. "Cody. It's nice to finally meet you."

Cody nodded. "It's nice to finally meet you as well." He then peeked around her for a moment. "Um...is Derek in the house?"

Mrs. Parker frowned somberly. "He is...I...I told him about Gwen."

"Oh..." Cody frowned as well. "U-Um...is he...is he okay?"

Vanessa sighed. "...He's taking it hard. And...with his cancer back, he feels..." she grimaced. "...He feels like not only he lost hope, but his sister as well..."

Cody frowned even deeper. "...Is...Is it okay if I see him?"

"...He's very emotional. I don't know if it's a good idea."

Cody stood there, contemplating on what he's about to say. "...Mrs. Parker..." he said with a resolute face. "I want to help you and Derek with your situation."

Vanessa looked at Cody in surprise. "You...You do?"

He nodded. "I want to help pay for Derek's operation."

Mrs. Parker looked at him stunned. "...Are...Are you sure?"

Cody smiled. "Absolutely. My parents and I will surely give you some money to pay off the hospital bills."

Vanessa still looked at him in shock. "...You...You don't have to do this."

Cody smiled sincerely as he put a hand on Gwen's mother's shoulder. "I thought about this when I was in my hotel room after we hung up...I _really_ want to. In fact, if you're sending him to a research hospital, then I'll donate every bit of my money to it."

Vanessa's mouth dropped open in awe. "...Are you...are you really serious about this?"

Cody nodded again with the same smile on his face. "I'm serious. I'm going to be an intern for a video game company in Los Angeles. I want to commit donating at least once a month if you're sending him to a research hospital. Also, if I get the job and if Derek is still sick, I'll surely donate a good amount of my salary. And believe me, video game companies pay _really_ well."

Mrs. Parker stood there, stunned beyond belief. Her lips then slowly turned upward, smiling with soft gratitude. "... _Thank you_."

"It's my pleasure." Cody smiled warmly.

Vanessa looked at him with warmth as well, smiling as she said. "Gwen was _right_ about you."

Cody blinked at the statement, but he smiled tenderly again, feeling elated to her that.

* * *

Cody was in front of Derek's closed door. Vanessa gave him permission to speak to him but was hesitant on doing so...

He sighed. "I've come this far..."

He knocked on the door.

"Um, Derek?" he raised his voice. "This...This is Cody. I, uh, I hope you heard of me from...from your sister." he winced. _'Ah man. I don't want to remind him of Gwen...'_ "I just...I just want to talk to you for a moment..."

There was no reply.

Cody gulped. "Um...Derek...I know...I know you're suffering right now." Cody paused as he realized how grim that sounded, especially talking to a cancer victim. _'Ah come on, you idiot! Try to think of something better than that! You don't need to remind him of his condition!'_ "L-Look, I just...I just came by to..." he sighed deeply. "...Derek, I wish I could bring her back...so you can have a sister again...so you can have someone to help you out with what you have...but...I can only pray and hope that she's okay...I don't think she's gone, really...I believe in Gwen too much for her to go down like that...I just...I just don't want you to lose hope..."

There was still no reply...

...Until he heard a soft voice from the inside of the room. "Come in."

Cody heard him, and carefully open the door to enter his room.

He sees that the 18-year-old boy was laying on his bed, his appearance looking quite young. He was wearing a large black shirt and gray cotton pants. His hair was dark brown and his physique is on the lanky side as well. Next to his bed, was a turned on lamp on his right nightstand.

Derek turned his head to Cody. His eyes looked red from weeping as well.

"Uh...hey," Cody said softly, trying not to upset him in any way.

"...You're Cody, right?" Derek asked, his tone still soft.

"...Yes..." he answered.

"...Mom told me you were coming...she told me the news also..." he glances down at the floor from his laying position, not looking at Cody. "...Do...Do you really think she could be alive?"

Cody stood in the door-frame, trying to think of what to say...

"...To be honest...I don't know for sure..." Cody answered.

Derek looked up at him and stared at him, eyes looking hurt from the statement.

" _But_...I do think she could withstand anything..." Cody finished in time to give him hope.

The young boy's expression softened a bit, the statement getting his hopes up.

The silence was evident in the room.

Cody sighed and slowly walked over to where Derek was. Once he reached to his bed, he sat on the bedside, his back turned away from him, but his side facing him.

Derek laid there looking at the side of Cody's face...he adjusted himself and sat up cross-legged next to Cody.

"...Gwen talks about you." Derek says.

Cody turned his head at Derek. "Does she?"

Derek nodded. He stayed silent for a while, until he said, "You know, when the first season of Total Drama was on, and when you came onto the show...I pretty much thought you were a dork."

Cody froze as he looked at Derek. "Um..." he turned away and blushed. "...Yeah, I...kind of was a _...dork_ back then...and not the good kind."

Derek cracked a smile but remained quiet... "The show aired when Gwen was doing the fifth season...when she came back home and mentioned you, she sounded...happy. Like she was pleasantly surprised..." he glanced at his hands in his lap. "...I don't know what happened back at Toronto, but...if Gwen spoke highly of you after that day..." he glanced at Cody. "...then you're okay in my book."

Cody looked back at Derek and smiled in gratitude. "Thanks."

Derek nodded.

It was then Cody spotted a picture on Derek's nightstand. It looked like Derek and Gwen when they were younger. Gwen was hugging the back of her brother, both smiling brightly.

Derek looked in the direction where Cody was glancing. He smiled sadly. "That's a picture when we were younger. I was twelve and she was fifteen. We were in Niagara Falls at that time..." he stopped explaining as his eyes began to well up.

Cody noticed this, wishing he could say something comforting. "Derek..." he hesitated a moment, but he kept going. "Look...I may not know what happened to her, but...I know that Gwen is a strong girl. She went through a lot of stuff in the show, both physically and psychologically even. If...If she could survive all of that, then...I positively _do_ have the feeling that she could be alive out there."

Derek glanced at Cody, his gaze almost watchful and mindful.

They sat on the bed for a couple more seconds.

Derek began to say, gazing back at his hands in his lap. "...Gwen almost talks about you all the time."

Cody turned back to Derek. "Does she really?"

Nodding, Derek said, "Yeah...she...she liked how you 'broke out of your shell', basically."

Cody smiled solemnly once more. "I have been doing that a lot recently."

Derek chuckled softly. "...Thanks for coming all the way over here just to comfort us. That's pretty cool of you. I mean, you didn't really have to do that."

The older boy gave him sympathetic smile. "I want to."

The teenager smiled genuinely for the first time...but it soon turned back into a frown. "...Gwen was trying to get money from the cruise to pay for my operation...my mom was going to contribute as well, her being a preschool teacher..."

Cody's face was neutral, but his eyes looked grave.

"...Now...I wish she hadn't gone off on that cruise...not only because she didn't get the money, but...because...my sister might be _gone._ "

Cody frowned. _'He's very strong...'_

"...My...My sister was my only hope...and she...she could be anywhere, whether she's missing or...or..." he grimaced. "..I...I don't even know what _happened_ to her..." Derek closed his eyes, about to sob.

Cody, feeling heartbroken and in grief himself, instinctively put his left hand on the teenage boy's right shoulder. Derek raised his hand to his own crying face, trying to cover his despair.

"It's...it's _not fair_..." Derek said with a sob. "I...I want _Gwen_ to be here...to help me through this...s-she's like my hero...and...she could be _gone_ for all I know..."

Cody was tearing up as well, feeling helpless on making him feel any better.

Derek continued. "I-I don't know...how much time I might even have left...I...I could die any day now."

"Derek." he interrupted him, shaking him a little bit with his hand on his shoulder, which the boy dropped his hand off his face and stared at him with red watery eyes.

Cody took a deep breath, trying not to shed any tears that were forming in his eyes as well. "Derek...I may not be your sister...but I can try, with all my might, to help you pay for your operation."

The boy's eyes widened. "What?"

Cody nodded. "I, along with my parents even, will pay for it. I'm pretty certain my folks will agree to it."

Derek looked at him in shock.

The older boy smiled reassuringly. "I'm going to be an intern soon for a video game company in Los Angeles when school starts again. And if I do really well and get the job, I can donate some of my salaries to the research hospital you'll be attending."

The younger boy just stared at him, not believing what he's hearing. "...Are...Are you really gonna do that?"

"Of course. It's the least I could do." Cody told him.

Derek just kept staring at him, obviously moved by his declaration. His eyes were tearing up once more, the feeling of hope coming back in his features. "Th...Thank you."

Cody nodded with a kind smile. Patting his shoulder, he let go of Derek.

They were both quiet for a moment, Derek wiping his tears as he sat there, while Cody silently smiled back at him in a reassuring way.

As soon as he got it together, Derek asked him. "So...you play video games?"

Cody smiled brightly. "Yeah. Do you play any?"

Derek nodded. "I sure do."

"Awesome! What kind?"

Derek smiled once again as he told Cody the type of game genres he likes to play.

And it was then Cody and Derek became good friends that day...

* * *

After reassuring Derek that he'll pay the bills of the operation, they talked a bit about their favorite games, making the young 18-year-old boy feel at ease for now. He got to know Cody very well through his interest in video games, talking about their favorite characters, to their favorite moments in these games. They even exchanged gamer-tags on each game console, so they could keep in touch online while they play games.

When Cody left the Parker household, he told his parents about the situation on Derek. They gladly agreed to help and pitch in the money to Cody to help with Derek's operation when the time comes.

He actually stayed in Houston for a couple more days, feeling like he should hang out with Derek to give the boy some emotional support. The weather was going to be bad anyways tomorrow, an awful storm coming through from what the weather forecast said.

Either way, the younger boy was very happy that he stayed those extra days, feeling like he actually has a new big brother, while Cody bonded with the boy like he was his own younger sibling.

When it was time to go, he bid Vanessa and Derek farewell and went back to Mississauga. While he flew back home, the Parker family was still on Cody's mind, especially Derek.

He had to keep his promise...he had to help out Gwen's brother.

 _'Don't worry, Derek...I'll help you...just like Gwen would.'_ he thought as he drifted to sleep in his seat while flying back to Canada.

* * *

 _Three years later, in Los Angeles, California..._

* * *

In a condominium complex in Santa Monica, an elevator dings.

Out came out a more mature looking, 24-year-old Cody, whose apartment was on the third floor. He returned back home from his job at his video game company that he works in, ready to relax for the evening.

Cody still had his mop of shaggy brown hair and is still sporting his short goatee beard. He's wearing more casual clothes, such as a bright blue buttoned up shirt with a white undershirt underneath it, along with some dark jeans, and a pair of black formal shoes.

He went up to his door and got his key out, unlocking his door and entering his home. Once he closed the door, he locked it, putting his keys in the key dish, and made his way to the couch to relax. Plopping onto it, he took a deep breath...

Today has been a very productive day. He's working in the company that makes "League of Warriors", and he's been developing new games for the company. The pay is very good, enough to probably buy himself a home. However, he chose the condominium life, basically just wanting the right appropriate space for himself. He didn't really want to live the fancy life of a successful game designer, he's more simple that way.

Besides, he basically used the majority of his money to donate through Derek's treatment two years ago. Derek seems to be doing splendidly after the operation and is now cancer-free, thanks to Cody donating to the research hospital that he was staying in. Getting rid of the cancer was indeed time-consuming, but the doctors had finally taken it out before it could really spread even further into his skin. And since it's so rare, they had to get him the right treatment to make sure it doesn't come back, which they found with advance medicine that was mixed with natural remedies, as well as a new diet, so this specific cancer wouldn't come back.

Vanessa was extremely grateful for Cody's donations for Derek, and even more-so, Derek was forever grateful to Cody. He and Cody have been keeping in touch through emails, phone calls, and through online gaming, which means the whole world to Derek. Not only he had a friend, but he honestly felt like he had a brother now. They talk about different things, such as shows, comics, and games, and asking how the other person is doing.

Cody smiled at the accomplishment he done for the Parker family...

 _'Wherever you are Gwen...just know that your brother is going to be fine now...'_

He frowned as he remembers that day...that horrifying phone call.

 _I don't know if I'm gonna make it back..._

He closed his eyes and lowered his head...

It's been three years...three long years...and still no sign of Gwen.

The Coast Guard tried to find the ship that Gwen was on, but shockingly enough, they haven't found anything. No remains, nothing. They even contacted authorities in Belize, but they haven't seen a ship pass through during that time. It was very discerning for Cody, as well as for the Parker family.

A month ago was the anniversary of Gwen's disappearance.

...He wished he knew what happened to her.

No matter how many years had passed, he genuinely still thinks that she's somewhere out there...he just doesn't know where. The Parker family actually had moved on, although they are still saddened by their loss. But Cody still held onto that hope that she could _still_ be alive...

As Cody sat there, feeling a little dejected, his phone rang. Snapping out of his sudden crestfallen mood, he got the phone out of his pocket and looked at the caller ID.

It was Trent.

With a smile, he answered the call. "Hello?"

" _Hey, Cody! How's it going, man?"_

"Going pretty good! Another successful day at the workspace. How're you and the band doing?"

" _Doing great! We've been getting shows off and on, earning the extra dough. We got a show tonight actually at Dracy's. I called to know if you like to see how much we've improved?"_

Not only Cody was in California, but conveniently enough, Trent was as well. He decided to make a name for himself in Los Angeles, spreading his musical talent in certain clubs. He and Cody would sometimes meet up with each other, always catching up with what's going on with their lives. It was good for the tech geek to actually have someone to talk to.

"Trent, you don't need improvement, you're already that good," Cody told him.

" _Well, you know what they say, time and practice make you even better."_

Cody chuckled. "Well, either way, I'm sorry to say buddy, but it's my supper time, and right now I'm at my place hankering for some Mexican leftovers."

" _Hey, we start at eight. It's like six right now, so you can pretty much hang around if you want. They'll be plenty of good looking women there."_

Cody smiled sadly. "Trent, you don't have to try to set me up with anyone."

" _Aw come on, Cody, you need yourself a girlfriend! A nice guy like you can certainly bag a great gal in this club! There's this one girl who's a good friend of mine-"_

"Trent, really, it's okay. I'm not looking for a serious relationship with anyone right now. I will, however, go to the club to see the show, though."

" _...Cody, man. You need a girl. I mean, I get that..."_

Cody sighed. "Look, Trent, I know what you're going to say, but...I feel like..."

" _Cody, it's been_ three years. _"_

"I know...it's just...I get the feeling that she's still out there."

Trent sighs on the other line. _"Cody...I want to believe so too, but...well, I don't want to get your hopes up if things come to worse."_

"Trent, we already had this discussion. I...I don't really want to hear it again."

" _...Okay, Cody. I'm sorry...but...you'll still come, right? Not just to look for a girl, but just to at least have a good time?"_

Cody smiled appreciatively. "Yeah. Of course."

" _Great! The show starts at eight, so scarf down that Mexican food while you can. Maybe we'll catch up with a couple of cold ones after the show?"_

He chuckled. "Sure! I'll be there!"

" _Awesome! See you then Cody!"_

"Later!"

They hung up.

Cody sighed...

The tech geek really _wants_ to believe that Gwen could still be alive after all these years. It may seem like a hopeless cause, but again, he can still hope...

...He looked at the time on his phone.

 _6:28_

Taking a breath through his nose, he went to his kitchen to get his food. While going over there he checked his email on his phone.

 _'Exactly 20 emails.'_

As he went to his email app, he went to his fridge to get his Styrofoam box of food out. He placed the box on the counter to look up his new emails for the day.

 _'Hm. The majority of them are advertisements and mail from some of the Total Drama cast...'_ he placed his phone on the counter and placed his food on a pan to warm up his food in the oven. Once he did that, he picked up his phone, sat in the chair near his table, and looked up the emails on his phone while he waits for his food to warm up.

He read the ones that were from the TD cast first. Each one was from Noah, Harold, DJ, Owen, and a few more of his friends that he made while he was on the show. They were basically checking up on him, which Cody's really thankful that they would still go all the way to see if he was alright. Especially after what happened to Gwen three years ago...

Getting rid of that thought, he scrolled down to see who else could have emailed him.

There was even one from Derek that told him about an upcoming tournament on an online gaming site that they should compete in. Cody smiled at that, happy to see that Gwen's brother is living well after the cancer fiasco. The others that were emailed advertisements, he deleted.

However, when he scrolled even further down, he saw something that made him froze.

There was an email...from Gwen Parker.

Cody blinked.

"What the...?" Cody muttered to himself in confusion.

The email had been sent today at 8:00 AM while he was at work...but the time 'Gwen' sent this email was 10:00 AM...

In the preview of the email under the name, there were the words:

 _Dulvey, Louisiana. Baker farm. Come get me._

Curious, he touched the email to open it.

It said the same thing:

 _Dulvey, Louisiana._

 _Baker farm._

 _Come get me._

Cody blinked again.

That was all there is in the email.

"What...?"

Gwen...contacted him?

After three years?

But...she was missing.

Cody stared at the email, almost as if he's deciphering the message...

Actually, when he thinks about it...the route that the ship Gwen was on _was_ still in the Gulf of Mexico...and Louisiana is above the Gulf...

He shook his head. "No...this...this is a prank...a cruel prank."

...But what if it isn't?

He gazed at the email again.

Did someone hacked into her email account? And if they did, then why would they do so? Why would they message him for this? Why...

Cody studied the email one last time...

He exited out of his email app and went to the internet on his phone, his meal forgotten for now. He went to Google and typed in _Dulvey, Louisiana._

It was an actual small town and a parish in Louisiana. It's situated in the marsh coast, basically in the backwoods...

...Could Gwen...?

He shook his head again.

"Come on, Cody, you know it's too good to be true..." he paused for a second. "...But..." he grunted. "Who's responsible for this?" He went back to the email app and checked the email address that was sent to him.

The email address was exactly like the one Gwen uses...he remembers it well...

"...This...This can't be Gwen...can it?" Cody asked himself in question.

Could this be a scam? Is this really a cruel prank?

...Or...could...could she be in trouble?

Cody doesn't know.

But today is a Friday...and he has the day off tomorrow...

...He might need more day-offs.

If this really is Gwen...then he can't pass this opportunity. What if she's really trapped somewhere? And if she is, then why is she kept there? Is she being held hostage?

There were so many questions that need to be answered...

 _Cody...I love you._

...His dinner was ready...but he isn't hungry right now.

...He might need to go on this trip...but he's not going alone. If this was a prank, he needs someone with him...

All Cody could think was one thing.

 _'Are you really alive, Gwen?'_

* * *

 **And that's the end of all that boring stuff! In the next chapter, we FINALLY get into the Resident Evil side of things! BE PUMPED, FOLKS! 8D**

 **Thank you all for enjoying this story so far! I'm really glad you're all liking it! Leave a review, fave, and follow if you can! :)**

 **Keep on rocking everybody! ^_^**

 **-TSP**


	5. The Search

Trent looked at him incredulously.

Cody gazed at him with a hard stare.

They were in the club, Dracy's, sitting in the club's backstage room. They and were having their drinks a little earlier, bottles of beer in their hands. Cody came by to talk to him after reading the text, which surprised Trent. It also worried him a little, since Cody asked if they could get their drinks now, especially when he saw the tech geek's determined face. After settling in their chairs, Trent asked if anything was wrong.

That was when Cody brought up the bizarre statement. One that Trent thought was impossible.

"Wait...what now?" Trent asked in confusion.

"I said Gwen emailed me," Cody said with unwavering confidence.

...Trent was staring at him dubiously. "You...got an email from Gwen?"

Cody nodded.

"...When was this?" Trent had to ask.

"She emailed me around exactly eight o' clock in my time. The time she sent it was around ten...which is in the Central time zone." Cody elaborated.

Trent was a little curious. "What did it say?"

"It said...hold on a second, I'll show it to you." Cody fished out his cell phone, activate the security on it and went to his email app. He touched the email from 'Gwen' and showed it to Trent, handing it to him.

Trent looked at the email. "Dulvey, Louisiana. Baker farm. Come get me." he raised an eyebrow at the message and glanced up at Cody. "Cody...this sounds kind of ominous. Besides, what if it isn't Gwen?"

"That's her email address, I'm sure of it," Cody said with a determined tone. "I was skeptical myself, but...I thought about it a little bit, and maybe...just maybe...the route that the cruise she took, could've let her drift to the coasts of Louisiana."

Trent looked at him with sympathy. "Cody-"

"Before you say anything, I'm just theorizing here. I mean, I don't know what happened to the ship she was on, and there were those storms that went on I was at Houston those three years ago. What if she was there the whole time?"

Sighing, Trent said solemnly, "Cody, I don't know...this...this seems like a cruel joke."

"But why would anyone want to go out of their way to do this?" Cody asked him.

Trent shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, but there are jackasses out there who would do this type of stuff just for kicks...you have been in a reality TV show, remember?"

"Yeah, but that was in Canada."

"It also aired in America as well, Cody."

"...Well, okay, but that was years ago. I don't think they would even remember me...unless they do a reunion special if the producers ever get it back going again, and if Chris ever becomes host once more." Cody cringed at that.

Trent shudders. "That's something I wouldn't want to go down the road again."

"I don't think all the contestants want to." Cody smiled halfheartedly.

Chuckling a little bit, Trent went silent for a moment and went back to the discussion at hand. "Still, Cody...it sounds too good to be true."

"But I _want_ it to be true. It just...kind of makes sense in a way." Cody said as he glances down in thought.

Looking at Cody's phone and the email, he gave it back to him, which he took it. "Cody, I'm still a little skeptical about this email. What if it's some sort of trap?"

"But why would anyone want to set this up? Say someone _did_ set this as a trap, why would this trap be all the way to Louisiana while I'm in California?"

Trent looked thoughtful. "...Still... it sounds cryptic to me."

Sighing, Cody went on to say, "Trent...I...I feel like I should go."

Trent looked at him with a dumbfounded look. "You're thinking of _going_!? Cody, you're going to fly-"

"Actually, I'm going to drive."

Trent's mouth dropped. "...That...that's even crazier! You're gonna drive probably three thousand and plus miles to a destination that could be a trap!?"

"Trent, look, I know it _does_ sound crazy-"

"And it does!"

" _But_ , I already asked for two days off at my workplace after my day offs on Saturday and Sunday. I told them my aunt was sick, so I was going to visit her in Florida."

Trent looked at him in shock. "...You're really going to do this, aren't you?"

Cody was silent for a moment, before saying, "Look...again, I know it's insane, but...I'm thinking of Derek and Mrs. Parker...of how they've almost lost hope on thinking Gwen is alive...I want to spark that hope in them again..."

Trent was quiet as Cody explained.

"I've...I've also really connected with Derek, and...whenever he talks about Gwen while we play video games online, he still feels...I _feel_ like he knows she's still alive out there...and maybe Gwen _is_ taken hostage somewhere..." Cody frowned. "I mean...maybe her status as a reality TV star is what's keeping her there for three years..." his eyes widened in dread. "Maybe...Maybe she's being held hostage by a crazed fan, or...or something." he put a hand in his hair, trying to calm himself down.

"Whoa, whoa, Cody, calm down," Trent said, sensing his buddy was going to overreact.

Shaking his head to clear the anxiety, Cody looked at Trent with fearful eyes. "I need to get there _now_. I don't care if it's a prank, I..." he looked down with a bothered look. He then looked back up at Trent and said, "Actually Trent, I came by to also ask you if you would come with me?"

Trent blinked. "Whoa, you mean...to Louisiana?"

Cody rolled his eyes. "No Trent, to Japan. Yes, Louisiana!"

"I know, I know! I just...I mean, right now? Cause dude, I have a show to do."

Cody frowned as he looked down again. "...I need the back up in case it is a trap of some kind."

Trent looked at him with sympathy in his eyes. "Cody, man, I...I mean..."

Cody sighed and looked up at Trent with pleading eyes. "Come on, Trent...you and Gwen used to date as well, back at Total Drama Island."

Trent cringed. "Well...yeah, we did...but..."

"Trent...please. I need someone with me to see and know if this is really Gwen. You're the one who has a gun on you. I'm not technically fit to be fighting anyone, remember?"

It was silent for a moment...

...Until Trent chuckled. "You know...I have a backup singer just in case an emergency comes up."

Cody perked up. "You mean...you'll come with me?"

The musician smiled and shrugged. "Yeah, why not? Even though we had a fallout, Gwen is a good friend of mine too...and...you're really set on this, so I'll help you through it."

Cody smiled as well. "Thanks, man."

"No prob. But you need to know how to use a gun."

"Hey, what do you mean? I've used a gun before."

"Um, using those plastic video game toy guns is _not a real_ gun, Cody. They're a lot heavier than they look."

Cody rolled his eyes. "I said I wasn't really good at _fighting._ And I _know_ real guns are heavier. Seriously, I'm not _that_ weak." he then smirked. "Actually, I have been working out every now and then. My trainer even said I packed a good punch."

"From the way you punched Duncan in _Total Drama: World Tour_ , I wouldn't doubt it," Trent said with a chuckle.

"Heh. The jerk had it coming." Cody remembers that fondly. "That was one of my best moments, to be honest...even though my fist did hurt after that."

Trent laughed softly. "But really though, Cody, you need to know how to use one just in case."

"Hey, I know how to aim. I play a lot of shooters in arcades back in the day. And _before_ you say anything, that counts as using a gun."

Now Trent rolled his eyes. "Okay, Cody, we'll see...so, what time do you want to head out to find Gwen?"

Cody gave out a sheepish smile. "Would now be too much of a trip?"

* * *

At 7:45 PM, they were all set.

Before quickly packing some things for this trip in their apartments, both men got into Cody's car, which was a classic '69 yellow Camaro SS with a custom interior, and with black stripes in front of the hood. Trent also got his gun out of his home and brought it with him. They then drove off into the interstate at night around eight o' clock, following the route to Phoenix, Tucson, El Paso, San Antonio, Houston, all the way to the Louisiana coasts where Dulvey Parish is. They stopped in Phoenix to rest in a hotel and got up around 8:00 AM in the Mountain time zone to get up and start going to their destination. They also stopped a little bit after Tucson so Trent could teach Cody on how to hold an actual gun and use it. They took the time to use it in a desert plain area near the border of New Mexico. Soon, when they reached New Mexico and finally went over to the Central time zone, they stopped at San Antonio to rest.

It was Sunday, and they got off around 12:30ish PM. Cody couldn't believe he overslept that late, but Trent did say they were driving non-stop, as well as going into different time-zones, so they needed the rest. Although agreeing to that, he didn't want to waste time.

Unfortunately, traffic wasn't good either on their way to Houston, but they prevailed and were almost passing the city...

* * *

Cody was in the city limits of Houston and felt like he was driving forever.

...Well, that wasn't true. Trent drove a little bit on the way so Cody could rest. But he was still determined to get to his destination.

However, while entering Houston, he felt a twinge of remembrance of the Parker family...

Almost as if he was reading his mind, Trent voiced out, "Hey, does Gwen's mom and brother live here?"

"Well, Derek used to live in Houston, but is now at a University in New York City," Cody said with a smile.

"Really? What is he majoring in?" Trent asked in interest.

"He's actually in an art school over there. He wants to work in animation someday." Cody replied with a content smile.

Trent smiled at that. "Well good for him."

"Yeah..." Cody then frowned soberly as he watched the road. "...I wish Gwen could see him now."

Trent looked at his friend in concern. "Hey...don't worry. If this email is who we think it is, then we'll make sure to bring her back."

Cody glanced at Trent with a thankful smile before turning his eyes back to the road. "Thanks, man."

"No problem. This has been an adventure so far..." Trent looked towards the road they were driving on, "...I just hope there won't be a struggle."

Cody looked on at the road ahead of them with a grave look on his face. "...Me too."

They were silent for a moment...

Until Trent said, "By the way, just wondering, but did you ever get another email from...Gwen?"

Cody was quiet...he then said, "No..."

Trent hummed.

They went silent again as they drove...

...Cody just really hopes that this is Gwen and not some stupid prank.

This would be all worth for nothing if it is.

But he had to know...he had to ask her questions...he _needs_ to know what happened.

...He needed to know if what he heard on the phone was true.

 _I love you, Cody._

...Cody kept driving.

* * *

They stopped in a city near the Louisiana border to grab something to eat, which it took the time for Cody to check where the address to the Baker farm in Dulvey on his phone.

Basically, the town of Dulvey was a salt mining community and has a population close to 700, the nearest city having a population of a thousand. It didn't take long for Cody to find the name 'Baker' in the white pages and 'Baker farm' in Google to know what the address is. They soon entered Louisiana and drove through the marsh coasts.

When they were halfway through the marshes, they were both a little nervous. It was close to 5:30 PM and they were almost near their destination. Cody got the location installed on the GPS in his car for easier traveling.

Cody drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as he was gripping it. He was wearing a cream white long-sleeved, buttoned-up shirt that he had untucked, with a white undershirt underneath it, dark blue jeans, and nice brown dress shoes. Trent was relaxing in the passenger seat but was tapping his finger on the car door windowsill. He was wearing a black T-shirt with the words, 'The Ramones' on it. He was also wearing dark jeans, along with black Calvin Klein shoes.

They were tense...they could be facing danger at any moment for the next thirty minutes...

...Trent then said, "We should be ready."

Cody nodded. "Yeah...

Silence lingered in the car...

"...But...Gwen said she was on a farm, right?" Cody reasoned.

Trent turned his head at his friend. "Yeah...?"

"Well...that almost sounds kind of, you know, reassuring, does it?"

The musician raised his eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what if we're blowing this all out of proportion? Farm people are supposed to be friendly and nice, right? And...hypothetically, maybe she had amnesia or something, and they took care of her...that could be why she stayed there for three years...and...what if she's regaining her memory back? Maybe that's why she sent that message to me; she was remembering who she was! I mean, that sounds plausible, right?"

Trent blinked. He turned his head to the windshield, looking towards the advancing road. "...That...could be possible."

Cody was silent for a moment...and sighed. "That's wishful thinking, isn't it?"

"No, really, that sounds possible! I mean...maybe she really _did_ have amnesia. Maybe it was out of trauma or something. You did say she sounded scared while she was talking to you on the phone, right?" Trent asked him.

"Well...yeah..." Cody looked on at the road in thought. "...I wonder what it was that she was scared of...it takes a lot to scare Gwen."

Looking thoughtful, Trent glanced at the floor-board "Well...we can ask her when we get there," he turned his head back to him with a reassuring smile. "And you can ask her a lot more other things as well, Cody."

"Heh...yeah..." Cody tightened his lips. "...You know that I love her, right?"

"Really? Gosh, could've fooled me."

Cody chuckled. "You know what I mean."

"Heh. Yeah, I do."

"It's just...if this _is_ her...I need to tell her..."

Trent gave him an understanding nod. "Hey...when you see her, tell her."

Cody took the time to glance at Trent with an appreciative smile. "Thanks, buddy."

Trent gave him a reassuring smile. "Just know that I got your back, Cody."

Cody smirked as he looked at the road. "Just know that I got yours as well."

Trent chuckled. "Thanks, man. You know, you were pretty good with the gun back there yesterday."

"Told you I can handle it." Cody confidently smirked.

Trent laughed. "Well, you did need some work on handling its recoil, but you learned pretty fast later on. Either way, thanks for making me a believer. Now I won't run for cover when you shoot."

"Oh, har-har," Cody said in sarcasm.

They got a good chuckle out of that.

They kept driving...

* * *

It was 6:10 PM.

They've driven to the backwoods of the marsh coasts, the scene looking isolated as the scenery drastically changes, there being nothing but ponds, trees, and a gravel road that they were driving on now. The sky also looked cloudy, as they heard the radio forecast that it was going to storm tonight.

As soon as they neared the end of the gravel road, slightly changing into a muddy one, the GPS says, _"You have reached your destination."_.

Cody set the car in park, which it was in front of a single tree, before turning off the engine. He sat there looking at the muddy path that was laid out for him.

He took a deep breath...

"Well...looks like this is the place," Trent confirmed.

"Yeah..." Cody unbuckled his seat-belt and opened his car door.

"Whoa, Cody! Hold up!" Trent said as he unbuckled his seat-belt, grabbed his gun from the side pocket, and opened his car door as he stuffed the weapon in the waistline of his jeans, covering up the handle with the bottom of his shirt.

Cody waited for Trent to come around the car as he told the tech geek, "Cody man, this is basically the backwoods of Louisiana...don't strut around like you own the place. Some of these people I hear are very dangerous. And they might not take too kindly to a city boy on someone's turf."

Feeling a little embarrassed, Cody sighed and said, "Sorry, it's just...well, the sooner I move forward, the more I don't feel afraid of what's gonna happen to me...I usually do that in video games."

"Yeah, but there's no retry button for the real thing, Cody." Tent explained grimly.

Cody cringed. "Yeah...sorry, I'm just...nervous."

Trent put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey man, don't worry, I understand. Again, I got your back. I'll be the front lookout."

Cody smiled back at him but looked thoughtful for a moment. "...Man, I should have come more prepared."

"Hey, no worries. When something comes amiss, I'll get out the gun, just in case." Trent reassured.

Cody turned his head to Trent with an even grateful smile. "I'm really glad you're finding Gwen with me."

"Hey, no prob. What are friends for?" Trent patted his shoulder with encouragement and with a smile as well.

They all turned to the path ahead of them...

The path looks almost muddy and bug-infested. It looks seemingly harmless enough...however, it almost gave out some sort of an ominous feel to it.

...Cody took another deep breath. "Okay...let's go."

* * *

Swatting bugs as they walked along, the two men walked towards the path for what seems like three minutes. So far, they haven't seen anything that would tip them off as them being in potential danger...

...But it still put them on edge.

As they walked furthermore up to the path, however...out in the distance they saw a gate.

"Hey...I see a gate over there." Cody said as he pointed forward.

Trent squinted at where Cody was pointing. "Yeah...I see it too."

They walked a bit more to get near the gate...

Soon, they stopped halfway in front of it...

...Something was off.

The gate was metal, the entrance having metal double gated doors. Inside the gated area...was the front of a large house...maybe a mansion.

But the thing that threw Cody and Trent off...was that above the gate and gated doors...

...was barb wire.

Cody blinked as well as Trent. They glanced at each other, seeing that they're thinking the same thing.

"Trent...why does this property have barb wire above their gate?" Cody asked Trent warily.

"Uh..." Trent managed to say.

Cody looked back at the gate. Next to the right side of the doors, was an intercom. He cautiously walked up to it and observed it. He also noted that a chain was wrapped around the entrance of the two doors, above the handles.

Cody went back to look at the intercom.

"Cody!" Trent quietly said as he rushed over to him. "Hold on...this...this doesn't look too friendly."

The tech geek turned to Trent. "Well...maybe we're... _really_ blowing this out of proportion?" he said in a hopeful tone.

Trent looked at him with an unsure expression.

"...Uh...maybe we can have a look around?" Cody suggested, a little anxious.

"That sounds like a good idea." Trent nodded, agreeing. "...Do you want me to get out the gun?"

"...Just in case." Cody answered, a little hesitant.

So they went off to their left where there was another dirt road connected to the main driveway to the house.

They're starting to feel a little troubled about this situation...but they came here to find Gwen...and they were going to, no matter how ominous this place is.

...Cody just _really_ hopes this wasn't a trap.

* * *

They walked around the gate for two minutes, going further into the woods.

Trent was at the front, while Cody was at the back. Trent got out his pistol out and is on alert, looking around for any signs of suspicious activity.

Cody was now almost starting to doubt this whole trip. Something doesn't feel quite right...was there supposed to be anyone around here on this farm?

 _'It's almost as if this place is...deserted...'_ Cody thought with unease.

"Cody! I found something!" Trent said ahead of him.

Cody perked up and rushed over to where Trent was heading.

What he saw, was something even more foreboding.

Trent found a white abandoned van, close to the metal gate that was surrounding the property. Near it, was what looked like...an opened gated door, which looks like it was hanging on by a single hinge. On the ground next to the side of the van, was a blue tarp and a couple of long wires. There were also a couple of camera stands, one on the ground and the other leaning at the hood of the car.

Cody looked at the vehicle in curiosity. "Is this the house's...van?"

Trent looked through the driver's window to see if there was anything or anyone inside. "This looks like a film crew van..."

Cody advanced to where Trent was and glance at the sliding door to the van. He neared it, was about to grasp the handle when he paused.

What could be behind this door?

"Whoa, Cody," Trent said as he noticed his friend about to open the door. He went next to him and readied his gun. "Careful now..."

Cody gulped, feeling anxious about what could be inside this vehicle...

He unlatched the door handle and opened with all his might.

...There was no one there...except for a stapled stacks of paper with a black and white picture on it laying on one of the seats of the van.

Cody took a sigh of relief, as well as Trent. The former looked at the picture on the front paper for a moment, however, as he thought he spotted someone familiar...

Cody blinked in shock. "Wait a second...look at the person in the middle."

Trent, curious about what he sees, picks up the stack of papers...

His eyes widened. "...You got to be kidding me."

"That's...That's Chris!" Cody said in shock.

Sure enough, the person in the middle with the two other guys was none other than Chris McLean. The other two guys that were on each side of him from left to right, was a tall guy with long hair wearing a short-sleeved shirt, long jeans, and tennis shoes, and the other was another tall guy(but not as tall as the other one) with short hair, a dark looking shirt, jeans, and a pair of hiking boots.

Chris, not surprisingly enough, still looks the same. He's still had his long hair that goes to his shoulders, wearing the same shirt, jeans, and shoes. All three were smiling at the camera, which Chris was showcasing his, quote-unquote, 'dazzling' showbiz smile.

Above the picture it said:

 _SPOOK HOUSES_

Spook Houses Ep. 17

-Project Proposal-

"Sneak into a Louisiana Ghost House"

"...Really? He's doing a show on haunted houses now?" Cody asked in befuddlement.

"Actually..." Trent looked closer at the script. "...This is a show on YouTube."

They all stared at the script...and both of them erupted into snickers which turn into laughter.

"Wow! Just...wow." laughed Cody.

"Man, talk about rock bottom." Trent laughed as well.

"Hey now, YouTubers got to earn some money too," Cody said with a laugh.

"Still-" Trent kept laughing. "It's kind of funny to see this guy get what he deserves. Talk about fall from grace!"

Cody laughed at the supposed sweet justice that was delivered, with Trent laughing with him.

After a few seconds, their laughter died down...

But it was then Cody thought of something very glaring...

"...Wait," Cody frowned. "...if Chris and this team of YouTubers are here...then...where are they?" he asked with slight concern.

Trent turned his head to his friend with an uneasy realization on his face. "...Yeah...are they doing this show?"

Cody thought about it for a second. "...I wouldn't think they film a supposed _haunted_ location in the day..." his eyes then widened as remembered the words 'haunted'. "...Trent, this script said this house was haunted."

Trent was silent...he placed the script on the seat and said, "Come on, Cody, you don't believe in that do you?"

"Well...kind of, but other than that, I'm thinking something else might be lurking here."

They all got quiet...they both turned to look at the opened gate door...

...Trent told Cody. "Just stay close, Cody."

Cody gulped in anxiety.

They advanced towards to the opened door...

* * *

After passing through the gate, they kept walking further and further into the backwoods.

The path they were on seemed naturally made, there being dirt mounds and trees that are attached to them as they passed them by. They even passed a small swamp pond, which they made sure no alligators were present. Which led to another thing about this area...for a farm, there was no animal life here besides the occasional flying insects.

They were wary of their surroundings, making sure they weren't being watched or followed...

...Everything seemed too quiet.

There was a loud rumble, indicating thunder...it was gonna rain soon, the clouds blocking the sun.

Cody was on edge once more. "Trent...I'm really starting to not like this."

"Me too..." He stopped, which made Cody stop as well.

"What? What's wrong?" Cody asked worriedly.

"Nothing, it's just..." Trent turned to him and asked him. "Do you really want to see Gwen?"

Cody blinked at him in surprise.

"I mean, I'm not backing out here, and I know you're not gonna back out either, but...this is starting to get a little sinister." The musician rubbed his neck. "What I'm saying is...I don't know what kind of danger we'll be put in, so..." he sighed, "Look, I'll understand completely if...you want to go. I'll go with you as well."

The chestnut haired man looked at his friend for a moment. "...You're giving up?"

"No! I'm just...thinking of you, man. I mean we don't know what we're gonna find here...I mean...I'm kind of scared to say that if Gwen _is_ here, then...she might be...I mean she _could_ be..." Trent grunted. "Look, I just don't want you to be devastated, okay? This is starting to look bad as it really is..."

Cody stared at the musician for what seemed like five seconds, looking at him in shock...but his eyes softened as he frowned.

"Cody, look, I'm not being a coward, I just...this is just really starting to look grim, and I'm thinking about you, and I know you love Gwen, but..." Trent grunted in aggravation. "I'm...I'm sorry, Cody, I shouldn't have said anything. I want to get to Gwen also, I'm just...I'm just kind of afraid we'll...we'll find her, and...and she'll be..." he faltered after that.

"Trent...even if..." Cody swallowed the dread. "...even if Gwen might be..." he winced. "...dead...I still _need_ to know where she is...just to give me a piece of mind...to give her mother _and_ her brother a piece of mind...just to let us know that...if she's gone...we can be at peace..."

Trent looked his friend in sympathy. "...Will you really be at peace when it comes to that, Cody?"

Cody glanced at the ground with a frown. "...It'll let me know that she isn't suffering anymore."

They all stood there, another roll of thunder coming by...

"...Then we should keep going." Trent said.

Cody looked up at his friend and smiled. "Thanks, Trent."

Nodding with a sad smile, Trent said, "You really do love her, don't you?"

His smiled turned melancholy as well. "I do..."

Trent's smile turned warm as he chuckled. "You know I always got your back, right?"

Cody chuckled also. "Of course." his smile then faded as he is reminded of the task at hand. "Well...let's get going."

Growing serious again, Trent nodded once more and turned to lead the way.

Cody began following him...until he heard the faintest sound a twig snapping.

Pausing, the tech geek turned around quickly.

...He heard even fainter footsteps around him...

He looked up at the dirt mounds and trees that surrounded them.

...He couldn't find anyone.

"Cody! You might want to take a look at this!" Trent called out to him. "Cody!?"

Snapping out of it, he rushed over to where Trent was...

...The area he once was got quiet again.

* * *

Cody saw Trent who was standing on a dirt ledge.

"Cody, what happened?" Trent asked.

"Sorry, I thought I heard something," Cody said as he was about to approach him.

"You did?" Trent asked with concern.

"Yeah. I think it was just a...deer?" As soon as Cody was next to Trent, he was overlooking the dirt ledge.

What he saw below was another ground level...and there was another house on that same level.

The whole area looked like a large ditch, so it wasn't a far drop. It also appeared to look like a backyard of some sort, which the two might've entered the back of this property if their hunch is correct.

The house was wooden and it looked old and rotted, the bricks of the chimney showing moss on it. In fact, there was moss on the house, looking like it wasn't used for quite a while. There was also a knocked over tree was on the ground that was situated in front of the back side of the house. There was also smoke billowing out of a pile of things...

...Wait...smoke?

It was then Cody made the grim realization. "Someone _is_ here."

Trent glanced at whatever remains that could be from the pile. "Yeah..." he turned to Cody. "Cody...follow me and stay close."

Trent dropped down off the ledge, with Cody in tow. As they landed, Trent walked cautiously to the pile of smoke with the gun in his hand, Cody following close behind him, as the tech geek took a look around to see if anybody was following them.

As soon as they reached the dying fire and the pile of ashen remains, there was one item that Cody seemed to recognize and stood out from the remains of the rest. It was away from the pile and it wasn't burnt.

A dark black and green horizontal striped handbag.

"Wait a minute..." Cody said as he quickly passed Trent.

"Cody!" Trent said as he went after him.

When the chestnut-haired man is close to the purse, he kneels in front of it, picks it up and looks inside it.

"Cody, dude, I said to stay close!" Trent said once he was next to him.

"Hold on..." Cody muttered as he searched through the purse.

After a little bit of rummaging, his hand found a wallet. He picked it up and looked at it...

He held his breath.

He unclasped it open...to see a driver's license.

 _Gwen's_ driver license!

Cody's eye's widened. "This is Gwen's handbag!"

"What!?" Trent said as he squatted knelt down next to Cody to see the picture of the driver's license. "Whoa...that _is_ Gwen!"

"Yeah...she's really here!" Cody said with great relief.

Now they just have to find her alive...

Trent stood up and looked at the home that was in front of them.

"Do you think she could be in this house?" Trent asked.

Placing the license in the handbag, as well as placing it on the ground, Cody stood up as well, staring at the home with resolve.

More thunder rumbled in the background.

"...There's only one way to find out." Cody said, his eyes and tone filled with determination.

* * *

 **Hooray! I got this finish just in time for the holidays! So here's an early Christmas gift to you all! :D**

 **As you can see, for anyone who played the game, I left out the other obvious hints that pretty much indicates something ominous is going on in the property. I want them to have at least a sense of false security before they go forward. Again, got to make this realistic, which I hope I'm doing a good job on! ^_^**

 **And yes, I included Chris. Ooooh, poor Chris...lol, you'll see what I mean in the next chapter. XD**

 **I hope you're all enjoying this so far! Next chapter is when things start to pick up! ;)**

 **Okay! With all that said, tell me how I did with a review! Maybe even with a fave and follow to see if any of you guys enjoyed it! :D**

 **Until then, keep on rocking everybody! :)**

 **-TSP**


	6. Found Footage

**[EDIT: 2/15/2018]**

* * *

Cody and Trent stared at the cryptic home. The wind was picking up, and the thunder was getting louder. There was a wooden hanging bench set that was next to the entrance of the back porch, the wind swinging it slightly, letting it have an eerie, yet ominous feel to it.

Cody took a deep breath.

Was he scared? Heck yes he was. But knowing he had Trent by his side with his gun, he feels somewhat a bit safe.

Besides...he has to find Gwen. He has to know if she's still alive.

"Hey, Cody," Trent said, breaking out of the tech geek's thoughts.

"Huh? What?" he asked.

"Maybe we should call the authorities," Trent said as he put his gun away in the waistline of his jeans and fished his phone out of his right pocket.

Cody blinked. "Oh...yeah! That's...that's actually a good idea." Why didn't he think of that?

Trent chuckled. "Hey, it just hit me too. That way, we won't run into any-" he stopped talking once he activated his phone. "...Huh."

"'Huh'? What do you mean 'huh'?" Cody asked, feeling like he wasn't gonna like the answer.

"It's just...my phone's...kind of acting up," Trent stated.

"It is?" Cody looked over Trent's phone.

It was glitching profusely.

"Whoa, that's...odd," Cody said with unease.

"Yeah..." Trent turned to his friend. "Cody, try your phone."

Cody did just that and fished his phone out of his right pocket. He turned it on...

...It was glitching as well.

Eyes widening, he softly says, "What the...?"

He tried to push the home button, but it didn't do anything. The phone's screen just kept spazzing. The time was even wrong.

"...Trent...something's going on here." Cody said in dread.

"You don't have to tell me twice, buddy." Trent was starting to feel uneasy as well.

Cody turned back to the house. The lights in the house looked like they were all out, it was gonna storm outside soon, and Gwen could be in potentially grave danger.

He pursed his lips.

Thunder clapped once more.

Cody felt a hand on his left shoulder, startling him. He turned his head, seeing that it was just Trent.

"Cody...do you think we should move forward?" Trent asked him, his expression grave.

The tech geek turned his attention back to the home...

 _'...We're_ _the only ones that can save Gwen, aren't we?'_

He felt a little anxious about this...but his eyes narrowed with determination.

"...We should. We need to keep going. We've been wasting too much time already." Cody said with resolute.

Trent nodded. He let go of Cody's shoulder, put his phone in his right pocket and got his gun out of his jean waistline with the same hand. "Then we should be ready for whoever comes at us."

Cody nodded as well. He put his phone in his right pocket and fished something in his left pocket; a small flashlight.

Trent smirked. "Come prepared?"

Cody smirked as well. "Don't doubt the Codemeister."

They soon advanced towards the back porch, passing the wooden hanging bench as it kept swinging from the wind, making it eerier than it should be. They entered the porch, the sound of shoddy age-old rustic wood clomping onto their shoes. Taking a left to go to the far left entrance of the house, they walked further to soon see a closed door.

Trent readied the gun in his right hand, pointing it upward.

Cody went to the door first. He gulped, reaching slowly for the doorknob and placing his hand on it...

He paused, not turning it.

"...Do you want me to go first, Cody? I do have a gun." Trent softly asked and advised him.

Cody stared at the door for a couple of seconds, and after much little thought, he nodded and said to him in a quiet voice. "If that's okay."

Trent nodded. Cody stepped out of the way as Trent went in front of the door. Readying his gun, he took a deep breath. To be honest, he was scared as much as Cody was. But he's doing this for two people; Gwen and Cody.

He slowly reached for the doorknob...turned it...

…And swung it open, pointing the gun at whatever could be waiting behind the door.

...No one...

Just pitch darkness.

With a sigh of relief, but kind of uncomfortable by the pitch blackness inside, Trent turned to Cody. "Okay, man. Maybe it's a good time to use that flashlight."

Cody nodded. "I'm on it."

He stepped beside Trent and turned on the flashlight.

It looked like a back foyer. There was another door ahead that was closed also.

Cody sighed. "Great. Another door."

Trent hummed. "Well...we should keep moving then," he advised.

They entered the home, leaving the door opened. They approached the other door, Trent once again readying his gun. The musician opened it...

Natural light flooded in, as it appeared to be a hallway. There was what looked to be a wooden storage cabinet at the end of it, a window behind it. At the right, an opening to another room was there.

They entered the hallway. Cody closed the entrance to the hallway door behind him just in case.

As they kept going, they saw that the hallway walls looked like they were in disrepair. The wallpaper looked dirty and some of it was peeled off, showing the bare wooden bones of the house. The ceiling also looked to be in disrepair. Two lone shutter doors were resting against the left and right side of the wall, while there were paintings on each side of the walls. The paintings almost looked simple, but yet still held a sinister vibe to it as they walked through the hall.

They went further down the hall, Cody closely behind Trent.

As they neared the cabinet, it looked like it was yellow taped haphazardly on the doors, almost as if someone was keeping something inside it.

They ignored it for now and took a right to enter what looked to be a kitchen.

...A dirty, disgusting, unkempt kitchen.

More natural light came into the kitchen, showing the disarray of the area. The walls in the kitchen looked worse than in the hallway, as well as the ceiling, where a lone fan was hanging above a table, four chairs being situated near it. To the left, was a sink, in it and its counters full of dirty dishes, pots, and pans. There was a wooden stand with a microwave, to its right a fridge next to it. On the right side of the kitchen, there were two cabinets, all rotted and rusted looking, as well as wooden planks seem to be leaning against them. Up ahead, where the table is placed in the middle of the kitchen, a partly opened oven was placed a little to the left, adjacent to a counter, where it was in front of the side of the fridge.

As they moved into the kitchen, they were greeted by a horrid stench. On the table, there were plates filled with remains of what looked like an eaten spoiled chicken breast, some ham, and...who knows what else. There was a brown pot with its lid closed at the bottom edge of the table, while there was a newspaper on the far upper end of the table. Lastly, an even more peculiar thing that both men caught, was that there seem to be food cans lying on the floor everywhere.

"Oh my gosh..." Cody said as he gagged at the smell surrounding the kitchen.

Trent grimaced at the odor. "These guys definitely don't know how to clean up."

As they advanced further into the kitchen, Trent went around the table to check the newspaper, while Cody walked up to the brown pot. The tech geek noticed that there were cockroaches on the table near the pot, which his face contorted in disgust. Curious, however, he lifted the handle of the lid with his right hand to look inside the pot.

The stench overflowed him as he gagged again. He looked inside the pot, the unappetizing brown slop that's supposed to pass as gumbo, looking unrecognizable and just plain revolting. What contents he could make out looked like pieces of rotten meat, as well as probably some insects that were unlucky enough to be in this abomination.

He felt something crawl on the hand that was holding the lid. Startled, he let go of the lid on the table, letting it rest on its bottom side as he saw a lone cockroach crawling up on the palm of his hand.

"Ah!" he quickly swatted the roach off his hand. Once it was off, he shivered. "Ugh...that's just gross."

Trent, however, didn't pay attention to Cody. He instead said to him, "Cody. Come take look at this for a second."

Curious as to what his friend found, Cody went around the table and stood beside him. Trent was looking down at the newspaper on the table intently.

"Read the front of this," Trent told Cody as he pointed at the newspaper.

The tech geek did just that, reading the main article of the local parish newspaper. "...Over 20 missing in 2 years?" Cody said in wide-eyed shock.

Trent nodded, his eyes holding a grim look to them. "...I'm having a feeling this place has something to do with it."

Cody stood there, having that feeling of dread creeping up on him as he gulped. Has this property been kidnapping random strangers? If so, then why?

Could...could Gwen be one of them?

"Cody...do you...still want to keep going?" Trent asked him, feeling his friend's unease.

Any logical person would say 'no', but...

 _Gwen panted, her voice cracking as she spoke. "I love you, Cody."_

"...We've come this far." Cody said, his tone neutral. He turned to Trent. "If Gwen is still alive, we can't abandon her...we need to keep moving."

Trent smirked softly. "Got your back, buddy."

Cody nodded a small smile, appreciating Trent's company.

They turn around away from the table as they walked out of the kitchen, towards another part of the house. The ceiling just looked like it was falling apart and all the wallpaper of the house was practically peeling off, everything looking like it's in shambles. To their left, it seems to be the front of the house, but the front entrance is blocked by a large knocked over bookcase, as well as some other planks of wood that are strewn across the door. There were also white bags of trash scattered around, under the bookcase, and around it. The most strange thing though, was that the door behind the knocked over bookcase was all boarded up...almost as if whoever lives here was trying to keep them in...

They looked to their right to see a staircase leading up to the second floor. Further ahead past the staircase was a cabinet, a vanity mirror to the left wall, and to the right, a small room was under the stairs. Past all of that, there was a small hallway that has a door at the end of it.

Trent was the first to ask. "So...which way?"

Cody contemplated on it, looking at the choices of which path they should take. "...Maybe..." he looked upstairs. "...Wait here, Trent. I'm going to take a look upstairs."

"Are you sure?" Trent asked with a frown.

"Yeah...I'll call you if I see anything." And with that, Cody went up the stairs. The stairs made several creaking noises as he climbed up them in a slow and steady fashion.

Once he reached the top, it looked like a dark, old, molded, crusty room with a support beam. He turned on his flashlight to see better.

But in doing that, he found something interesting.

The support beam...has a button switch on it.

Cody blinked.

The light above the button was flashing red. Curious, he went up to the switch. It said 'STAIRS'.

Confused, but once again, curious, Cody pushed the button with his hand.

...Nothing happened.

Cody frowned. "Guess that means it doesn't work," he mumbled. When looking to his right though, he saw another area.

He walked around the support beam and saw a chair, a desk with a lamp on it and a cabinet next to the right.

The tech geek shined the light on the cabinet.

On the top of it...was a VCR videotape.

Gazing at it for a moment, Cody went over to it and picked up the videotape.

It was labeled 'Derelict House Footage'...

"Cody?" called out Trent.

"I found something." Cody instantly informed.

"You did?"

"Yeah. I'm coming down."

And with that, Cody went down the stairs, turned his flashlight off and show Trent what he found.

"A videotape?" Trent queried.

"Yeah..." Cody looked over to his right to where the other hallway is. "Come on. Let's keep moving."

Not arguing with that, Trent and Cody went on ahead past the staircase, past the small storage room underneath the stairs, which housed a shelf that carried tool boxes and...a rusty chainsaw.

They both saw the electrical power driven tool and couldn't help but have a foreboding feeling in their stomachs when they saw that.

Cody shook his head at any grim thoughts concerning the chainsaw, as well as Trent. Not dwelling on that any further, they still kept moving, reaching the small hall. There was another door to a room to their right. Cody still checked the door up ahead however as he fiddled with the doorknob.

It was locked.

He frowned. Why would this door be locked?

"Cody."

Cody turned to Trent who opened the other door in the hall.

"I think I found a TV in here." the musician informed. "I also might need your flashlight."

Coming over to where Trent is, he turned on his flashlight.

The room looked like a living area. The bottom of the room has surrounding square wooden paneling and there were two plush leather chairs, a plush leather couch. There was a coffee table in the middle of it of the couch and chairs, whereas a piano was on the right side of the wall. Further in the back left side of the wall, was a fireplace, and next to its right was a large bookcase. There were bordered up windows to the left as well, some of the natural light flowing in as best as it could. On the right side corner of the room, was an old medium box-sized looking TV, the static was apparent on the screen. But what caught both men's eyes was that there is a VCR on top of the TV.

As they close in on the television, Cody spot something on the coffee table. He shined the flashlight on it.

It was a picture.

"Wait, Trent..."

Trent stopped. "What?"

Cody stared down at the picture. Kneeling down, he placed the tape down on the table and picked up the photo.

His eyes widened in shock.

"Oh my gosh...this is Gwen."

"What!?" Trent came over to where Cody was. They looked at the picture as Cody shined the light on it.

It was a black and white enlarged photo of a woman sitting. Her attire seems to be a little dark, but what made Cody realized it was Gwen was that her face was being shown in the picture. Her hair almost looked longer, but her face was what the tech geek recognize the most. What frightened Cody though, was that Gwen looked like she was sedated.

Trent's eyes widened in shock as well. "Oh man..."

Cody was starting to breathe heavily, trying to calm himself. "Just...just what is doing this to her?"

It was then he looked at the videotape on the table. Dropping the photo on the table and picking up the tape, he stood up, his eyes narrowing at it as he shone his flashlight on it.

"...I think this is here for a reason."

Trent glanced at the tape and back at Cody.

Cody stood silent. After a moment of staring at the tape, he turned around and went to the VCR above the TV. He stopped.

He's afraid of what he'll possibly see...

"Hey...Cody."

The tech geek turned his head at Trent.

Trent had an understanding frown on his face, almost as if he's encouraging him to put the tape in. "...We come this far."

...Cody nodded. "Yeah...there's no turning back now."

He turned his head back to the TV and insert the tape into the VCR. The TV turned on, and they waited until the TV accepts the tape.

Once it accepted it, the screen played out the name of the recording.

* * *

"Derelict House"

Dulvey Haunted House – Rehearsal

Cody looked at the date. "Wait a minute...this was filmed at least a month ago."

Trent took notice of this too. "Whoa...so they've been missing for some time as well?"

"We'll find out," said Cody. He looked at the name belonging to the video. "...Clancy Javis?" he asked with a raised brow.

Raising an eyebrow at that as well, Trent said what was on his friend's mind. "Strange name,"

They kept watching the video...

...It was starting...only to see a face pop up.

" _Boo!"_

Trent and Cody jumped. Soon though, Cody recognize who the face was.

"That's Chris!"

"Whoa...it's really him," Trent said baffled. "...And yet his face still looks the same."

Cody gave out a small chuckle.

" _Give me a break, Chris." said the taller short blonde haired guy with a short-sleeved shirt and jeans as he readjusted the tie on Chris, which he was wearing a suit._

" _Hey, I only work with professionals," complained Chris. "Speaking of which, make sure the sound is right this time. I don't want a repeat of Amarillo."_

Cody snorted. "Well, he _certainly_ sounds the same."

" _That was two freaking years ago!" the blonde guy says as Chris walks up to a building with a turned-on flashlight...which looks like the same house Cody and Trent are in now._

" _I don't do ADR!" Chris calls out to him as he walked further. The guy waved the cameraman(who was probably Clancy) to follow them._

 _As they walked to the house, Chris spoke to the guy 'quietly' "This new guy? I'm not feeling it."_

 _The guy sighed. "Again?"_

" _Just don't be surprised if we have to make a change."_

" _Hey, I'm right here!" said the cameraman._

" _Hey, hey, don't breathe down on us, man!" Chris said as he turned around to face the camera. He turned to the guy next to him. "What do I tell you, Andre?"_

 _The man named Andre shook his head and turned to Clancy and mouthed a "Sorry,"._

 _As they entered the porch, Chris says, "New plan. We do a walkthrough of the inside first, then we shoot the intro."_

" _Just like we always do." Andre rolled his eyes. "Just try to say the show's name this time?"_

" _Yeah, sure thing!" Chris said as he shone the flashlight on his face. "'Tonight on Spook Houses; another worthless crappy hellhole!' Happy?"_

Trent snickered. "Someone's not happy with their new job."

 _Andre just threw his hands up in exasperation. "Ecstatic."_

 _As they walked to the same closed door that Cody and Trent went into, Chris asked Clancy. "Are we rolling?"_

 _Clancy seemed to make a nod as Chris says. "Alright, let's go." The former reality TV show host tried to open the door as he handled the doorknob. It seemed to not open._

" _Aw come on, you piece of crap..." Chris said in frustration._

" _Get outta the way." Andre pushed Chris away, fiddling with the doorknob himself._

" _It's locked!" Chris argued. But then Andre decided to go through a different approach and kick the door open. Chris just stood there, shrugged, and walked in._

 _Andre just looked at him in disbelief and said in sarcasm. "After you."_

 _As they entered the home, Chris asked Andre. "So, why are we in hell this time?"_

" _Do you ever prep?"_

" _What's to prep? Crappy house. Spooky sounds. Ooh, is it haunted?"_

 _Andre sighed._

 _As they went further down the hallway, Chris was once again complaining. "Damn, man...this sucks. I was once a big shot reality TV show host, you know?"_

" _Seriously, Chris? Are you still going keep going on about this every time we do an episode?" Andre asked in annoyance._

" _Hey! I was very well known, I'll have you know!"_

 _Andre scoffed. "Only in Canada,"_

" _What was that?"_

" _...Nothing."_

 _They were close to the kitchen entrance._

" _Well, what's the story, Andre?" Chris asked._

" _Abandoned farmhouse. Missing family. Foul play suspected." Andre listed. "The usual."_

"Abandoned farmhouse? Missing family?" Cody pondered.

 _"Huh. How long did you say this place has been abandoned?" Chris asked._

" _Three years," Andre confirmed._

"Three years? That's...that's when Gwen went missing." Trent speculated.

His gaze still intent on the screen, Cody nodded. "Yeah..."

" _Clancy! Get a shot of this! This would make a great cutaway." Chris told Clancy as the cameraman took a shot at the cabinets. "So...Hillbilly Joe and his family go missing-"_

" _Not hillbillies, Chris, the Bakers. Jack and Marguerite Baker...and they were quiet, not backward." Andre corrected the former TD host. "Lot of bad rumors about their son Lucas. Bad seed apparently."_

 _The conversation left at that as Clancy was filming the kitchen, let it be the table, sink, fridge, and microwave. He soon went back to the two cabinets and opened one of them to see if anything was inside. Seeing that there is nothing, he closed it, only to hear a 'squishing' sound._

" _Ah, crap!" Chris exclaimed. Clancy turned the camera to Chris, seemingly stepping on some feces'. "I knew I shouldn't have worn my good shoes!" Chris whined. He then looked up at a painting. "...Oh hey...this could make a great backdrop. Hey Andre, what do you think?"_

 _...There was silence._

" _...Andre?" Chris shined his flashlight around the kitchen. "Andre." Clancy started to look around as well with the light on his camera. "Andre!" Chris called out one last time. "Clancy, did you see where Andre went?"_

" _Um...sorry, I was filming."_

 _A groan came from Chris. "Son of a_ bitch... _" Chris then used his flashlight to guide him as Clancy followed him. "Andre!"_

 _They were soon in the foyer with the staircase._

" _Where is he!?" asked Chris as he shone the light, looking for Andre. "Un-freaking-believable! This is the last time I work with that guy! I mean, producers, they come and go, but a good cameraman like you, Clancy? You stick with me."_

 _They could hear Clancy mumbling, "Oh,_ now _I'm a good cameraman..."_

 _Soon, they walked into the same small hallway and were about to pass the door to the room that both Cody and Trent are in now. Then...they heard a noise._

 _Startled, Chris and Clancy froze._ _It sounded like some sort of loud door was closing._

 _Turning to the door where the sound came from, Chris looked at it in confusion. "Whoa...what...what was that? Did you hear that?"_

" _Y-Yeah..." Clancy replied._

As the two kept watching the tape, Cody was beginning to not like where this was heading...

" _Andre?" Chris called out._

 _There was no answer._

 _Chris approached the door, reaching for the doorknob and opened it._

" _Andre?"_

 _As they entered the room, Chris' flashlight shone all over the living area. There wasn't any sign of Andre. "Dude...where the hell is he?"_

 _They passed the chairs, the piano, and the TV that was on the small table._

" _Andre, where are you man!?" Chris called, getting a little worried. He flashed the flashlight around the room. "Just what is...?" He then flashed the light at the fireplace. Pausing for a second, he looked at it..._

" _Wait a minute..." Chris steadily walked over to it._

" _What?" Clancy asked, worried._

" _...What the hell?" Chris went closer...he then reached his hand underneath the fireplace. It looked like he was pulling something._

 _A peculiar sound was made. It sounded like...a small door just opened._

 _Something caught Clancy's eye to the right. One of the square wooden paneling next to the bookcase near the fireplace...was opened ajar._

 _It was a door to a crawlspace._

Both Cody and Trent's eyes widened at this reveal.

" _Whoa...C-Chris, check this out!" Clancy stuttered._

 _Chris saw what Clancy was looking at as he flashed the light on it._

" _...What the? ...Oh hell no. No. No, no, no, no man. Nah uh._ No. _You gotta be kidding me here."_

 _Clancy turned the camera onto Chris' shocked expression._

 _After registering what just happened, Chris shook his head to clear out on what he needs to say. "Okay, y-you know what? New deal. W-We find Andre, and we go. I mean, screw this show."_

" _Uh...y-yeah. That-that sounds like a plan." Clancy agreed._

 _Chris looked at the small door for a couple of seconds. He took a deep breath and began to walk over to the crawlspace. He squatted and shuffled to the opening, with Clancy right behind him._

 _They soon entered a different room. It was a narrow confined space, but at their right...there was a hole...with a ladder that was leading down somewhere._

 _"Oh man..." Chris said, his tone starting to feel a little uneasy._

 _"I-I thought this house was abandoned?" Clancy stated, his tone sounding really anxious as well._

 _Chris audibly gulped._ " _U_ _h...um...o-okay...alright...okay..." they neared the hole with the ladder. The former TD host stopped in front of it hesitantly, turning to Clancy as he spoke, "Hey! Um...c-can you go first?"_

" _What!?" Clancy exclaimed incredulously._

" _I mean, hey, don't worry, I'll follow ya! I just...need you to film my hero shot for when I come down! Heh..."_

 _Clancy just stared at him, probably in disbelief._

 _Chris cleared his throat. "I mean, come on man, we gotta save Andre from...who or whatever is in...here."_

" _...I'm only doing this for Andre," Clancy muttered, as he hooked his camera to his headpiece._

" _Cool! Okay! Don't worry, I'll be right behind ya!" Chris reassured._

 _Clancy looked down at the latter and into the hole. He took a deep breath and began to put a foot on one of the steps. He began descending down the long latter..._

 _Once he reached the bottom(it had been a long way down), he turned around._

 _The light shone what appeared to be a basement-like area, with a stone column along with some stuff covered by tarps._

 _But what caught Clancy's attention...was that he found Andre straight ahead, back turned and in front of the wall..._

" _What do you see? What is it?" Chris called from above._

 _Clancy, mustering up the courage, went over to Andre. Apparently, the producer didn't hear them as he still stood there with his back facing Clancy._

" _Andre? ...Dude?" Clancy said in unease._

 _Once he got closer, he put his hand on Andre's left shoulder..._

 _But soon, Andre's weight gave way, as it's revealed that his mouth was shoved on a metal pipe. There was a 'slurp' sound and Andre went limp._

 _Clancy made a horrified gasp._

 _Andre's face was stark white, his bottom lip, mouth, chin, and neck all running down with wet blood. There was also blood dripping from his nose and his eyes._

 _His whole body fell onto Clancy, as he tumbled to the ground, with the back of Andre's head on his stomach._

 _The camera has a close up look of Andre, his eyes looking dull and lifeless..._

 _He was dead._

 _Clancy started to breathe heavily in horror, hyperventilating as he stared at Andre's dead face._

 _It was then he heard something..._

 _Footsteps._

 _At the camera's upper left corner, there was someone approaching._

 _A pair of baggy pants and mud boots were coming towards Clancy._

" _No, oh shit, no! NO! NOOO-"_

 _There was static..._

 _And the video ends._

* * *

The two men looked at the TV screen, their eyes widened in shock...

"...Cody...someone is definitely here." Trent said, stating the obvious.

Cody didn't say anything for a bit.

Trent turned to Cody in concern. "Cody?"

...It was then Cody quietly turned around and walked towards the fireplace.

"Cody?" he said his name again.

He paused as he shone his flashlight at a picture that was above the mantle of it.

"...That must be the missing family."

Trent blinked. "What?"

Cody squatted and looked for whatever activated the crawlspace.

He found a lever handle.

"Cody?" Trent inquired once more.

He reached up and gave the lever a pull.

It made the same opening sound, indicating that the crawlspace door had been opened. Trent turned to the opened door and back at Cody, who got up and turned to Trent, his face serious.

"...We _gotta_ keep moving," he said in determination.

Trent gazed at him...he nodded, putting his gun in the waistline of his jeans. "I'm with you, man."

Cody took a deep breath through his nose and glanced at the slightly ajar crawlspace.

"You know..." Trent began to say as Cody broke eye contact from the secret door to stare at him. "No sane person would do this."

Cody frowned at that.

Trent smirked though. "But I really admire that you would really go this far for Gwen. Gwen is lucky to have someone like you to care for her."

The tech geek's lips formed into a smile.

"Plus, I'm ready to save her as well. Whoever is down there, we need to be on full alert."

Cody nodded. "Right..." He turned his attention to the opened crawl-space. "Well, let's do this."

Cody went first as he pushed the secret door to let them have an entryway. Before Trent could begin following him though, he went up to the fireplace to look at the picture that Cody was talking about a while ago.

From the light that was shing through, it looked to be an old family photo; a man and a woman, with their two children; a boy, and a girl, sitting on the couch together.

"Trent?"

The musician turned to the voice. "Sorry, coming."

When Trent entered the secret room, the same hole with the same latter greeted them.

Cody and Trent advanced over to the hole, preparing themselves for what could be waiting down there.

It was then, Cody could only think one thought.

 _'Don't worry, Gwen...we're coming.'_

* * *

 ***BONUS***

 **Kitchen**

* * *

 **A month ago...**

* * *

...Chris woke up in a groggy state.

"Ugh...what...?"

Getting his bearings, he tried to move...but he couldn't. Struggling, he felt like his whole body was tied up around the chest. The only thing that he could move was his arms, but even then, something felt constricting on them.

He looked down at his arms to see that his wrists were all tied up as well.

"W-What?" Chris said, slightly panicked. He looked up.

There was a camera on its tripod, staring right at him.

Chris took in his surroundings frantically. It looked like they were in the kitchen of the house. He could see a lamp on the floor, illuminating the area a bit, and right next to it was a knife. Immediately though, he could see Clancy laying on his side next to the fridge, a little further away from the lamp and knife.

The former TV show host soon realized that he was strapped to a chair, his ankles tied up as well.

"Oh, shit..." he frightfully whispers. Usually, Chris felt like he was in control of these certain type of situations whenever he was back on _Total Drama_...now, it seems he is in _no way_ in control of what is happening right now. And that _scares_ him...

Everything is quiet...Chris does not like the quiet.

He turned his head to Clancy, who hasn't moved. "Hey...hey...hey!" he whispered loudly.

Clancy didn't move.

 _'Oh come on, don't tell me he's dead!'_

Clancy didn't look like he was in any critical damage. He could just be knocked out. He glanced at the knife that was near the lamp.

 _'Okay...maybe if I can wake Clancy up, he can get the knife and cut these ropes...damn, I_ cannot _believe this is happening to me!'_

He had to make _some_ noise to wake the cameraman up. Looking at the camera on the tripod, he had an idea. He raised his wrist bounded hands and tried to lightly touch it. It was far from where he was sitting, not to mention he was tied to a chair.

"Come on...just a little more," he whispered.

His knuckles grazed the leg of the tripod forward. He made a slight push...

The camera tripod leaned back. It soon knocked over, making a bit of a sound.

Chris was wondering if doing that was even a good idea.

But his doubts were proven wrong when he saw Clancy stirring.

Feeling relieved, Chris whispered to him. "Hey! Hey Clancy!"

Clancy woke up, getting up on his knees. He took a glance around the place, looking disoriented.

"What-" he began to say in his normal tone of voice.

"Shhh!" Chris hushed him.

Clancy turned to the source of the sound. Eyes widening, he said, "Chris?"

"Yeah. Hurry, grab the knife. Cut me loose so we can get the hell out of here!" he instructed while whispering loudly for him to hear.

Clancy glanced at the knife that was near the lamp. Not wasting time, he struggled to get up as he sluggishly walked while on bending knees. As he neared the knife, he clumsily knocked over the lamp.

"Oh damn it, come on!" Chris quietly exclaimed.

"Sorry..." Clancy said in a hushed tone. He was probably still out of it. He grabbed the knife with both hands and proceeded to walk up to the chair bounded Chris.

"Here, cut the ropes on my wrists!" Chris instructed in a rush.

Clancy knelt down in front of Chris and started to use the knife to cut the portion of the rope that was in between his wrists.

He kept sawing the knife on the rope.

"Come on, come on!" Chris whispered in frustration.

"I'm trying!" Clancy said in equal hushed frustration. "Just hold still!"

As he kept cutting the rope on Chris' wrists, his grip went loose and he dropped the knife.

"Son of a-would you hurry it up!?" Chris frantically and quietly said through clenched teeth.

"You try doing this without accidentally cutting someone's-" Clancy said in irritation but was cut off.

A loud creaking sound came from somewhere...

Clancy turned his head back at the sound. Chris gazed into the pitch darkness in front of him, his face expressing fear and worry.

...It got quiet.

Feeling anxious, Clancy picked up the knife and didn't waste any more time, turning back to Chris and cutting the ropes as fast as he can.

"Come on...come on, we got to get out of here," Chris whispered steadily, but his tone still laced with slight panic.

Clancy nodded, agreeing with Chris for once as he cut the ropes with the knife. He almost got one rope done...

Until someone silently and quickly came up from behind Clancy.

Chris' eyes dilated, his mouth agape in horror.

"Clancy..."

"I'm trying," Clancy said as he looked like he was about to cut the rope.

The person behind Clancy, who looked female, was holding a hatchet in her right hand.

"Clancy!" Chris repeated his name more forcefully this time.

"What, man-"

Then the woman shoved the hatchet into Clancy's back, protruding out of his chest.

"AAGH!" Clancy exclaimed in pain, dropping the knife.

The cameraman gurgled as blood came out of his mouth, the stab wound emitting blood out of him, staining his shirt. The woman took the hatchet out of him, as Clancy tilted over to his right, and landed on his side.

Chris, eyes widened, started to hyperventilate.

But upon quick closer inspection of the woman, he recognized her face.

His mouth dropped in shock.

"Wait _-GWEN_!?"

The woman, who was in fact, Gwen, turned her attention to Chris. She appeared feral, her teeth gritting, and her eyes looking crazy. But what was most noticeable, even in the dim light, was that her skin was all gray. Gwen growled, looking like she has the intent to kill.

"Whoa, whoa!" Chris said in his normal tone of voice. "Gwen, h-hey! U-Uh...how-how ya been? D-Didn't expect you to be here!" he stuttered, trying to put on his best showman's smile, almost failing as fear was slowly creeping up on his features.

Gwen just glared at him with ragged breaths. Hand tightening on the hatchet, she raised it up.

Chris' showman-like 'charm' dropped instantly. "W-wait, no! No! _NO!_ " he panicked.

Gwen slammed the hatchet blade right on Chris' left leg.

"AAAAAAH!" Chris yelled in agony.

After keeping the knife in his leg for about three seconds, she roughly got the blade out of his leg. Chris grunted and panted in pain, trying to somehow ease the stinging sensation that was thrust onto him.

Still raggedly breathing, Gwen reared back the hatchet to try to stab Chris fully.

But then, Gwen shook her head, closing her crazed eyes, as she placed her left hand on her forehead.

"Wha...what?" Gwen said, opening her eyes. They looked normal again, but they soon widened in shock as she looked down at the wound she inflicted on him. She then looked up at the former TV host. "Chris?"

"OH NOW YOU RECOGNIZE ME!?" Chris screamed, evident that he was still in pain.

Gwen, staggering back a little, looked horrified at this scenario, and began apologizing. "Oh Chris...I-I'm so sorry, it's...it's not me! Wh-what are...what are you doing here!?"

"I'M BEGINNING TO WONDER THAT MYSELF!" Chris yelled in anger. "AND WHAT ARE _YOU_ DOING HERE!?"

"I...I-" Gwen tried to explain, but then someone tackled her.

It was Clancy, still alive and breathing.

"Ah!" Gwen exclaimed.

Clancy pushed her into the dark area of the kitchen. Chris could hear a struggle going on...

He then heard a ragged yell, the yell sounding like it was coming from Gwen.

He could hear sounds of stabbing...

More stabbing...

...It went silent...

Chris, his leg still hurting from the hatchet wound, gasped and panted.

After a moment of agonized waiting, he called out. "Gwen!? Clancy!?"

...Something flew across the room, bouncing off a wall and rolling onto the ground...

Chris gazed at it...

His eyes dilated in terror.

He started to hyperventilate once again when he can identify what it was...or rather, _who_ it was.

The object...was Clancy's dismembered head.

"Oh...oh _shit_. Oh _shit_. Oh _shit_. Oh _shit_. Oh, _SHIT_!" Chris then began to yell. "SOMEONE!? ANYONE!? HELP! _HELP_!"

He heard shuffling from inside the darkness.

Not knowing what to do, he did the only one thing he could do; beg for his life.

"Gwen? Gwen...? Okay, look, I'm...I'm really sorry! I was a sadistic host, and I really shouldn't have taken pleasure in all the turmoil I caused you kids during those challenges! Really, I am!"

The shuffling continues...until Gwen slowly came into the light. Her skin looks...normal. Or as normal as her pale skin would have looked.

Gwen's expression, however, looked alarmed, her hand covering her mouth as if she processed the situation. One look at the dismembered head of Clancy made her gasp in horror.

"Oh...oh my gosh..." she turned to Chris, her eyes about to water over what she has done. "Chris...seriously, t-this _isn't_ me, I'm _not_ doing this, I _swear_!"

"Hey, okay! Whatever you say! Just...just don't kill me! I'm too beautiful to die!" Chris desperately and pitifully bargained.

But then, all of a sudden, out of the darkness walked out a taller figure from behind Gwen, holding what looked to be a shovel.

Chris' eyes widened in fright.

"Chris, I mean it, I'm _not_ _doing thi-_!" Gwen froze as she saw his expression, as well as now hearing the footsteps from behind her.

"Shit. You still trying to fight the gift, aren't ya girl?"

Before Gwen could even turn around, she was whacked on the back of her head by the bottom flat part of the shovel, instantly knocking her out as she collapsed on the floor face-first.

Chris yelped at the surprise visitor.

With Gwen unconscious on the floor, the taller figure walked up to his tied up victim. The light showed his intimidating features as he was holding the shovel with his left hand. His eyes glared at him behind his glasses, almost as if he's boring a hole into his skull.

"Well, pretty boy...looks like you'll get to be my son's plaything after all..." His glare lessened as he cracked a sinister smile. "Heh-heh...nighty- _night_." He reared his fist back.

"WAIT! WAIT!" Chris tried to plea but was met with a punch to the face. The chair tumbled over on its side, bringing Chris down with it.

Head hurting, and about to lose consciousness, Chris groaned weakly. He looked up to his left to see the man above him.

Chuckling cruelly, the man raised his boot and slammed it on the former TV show host's face, knocking him out cold.

* * *

 **Oooookay...I think this is gonna be where things get a little M-rated. So...I'm going to be safe and put this on the M-rated section. ^^;**

 **But yeah, what do you all think? Nothing much happened, I don't think, but believe me, we'll get to the nitty-gritty here real soon! ;D**

 **So yeah, tell me what you all think of the chapter in a review! Or fave and follow! Or do all three! Either way, they all make me very happy! ^_^**

 **Thank you all for reading! Keep on rocking everybody! :D**

 **-TSP**


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